Paladin Wars
by Freida Right
Summary: FFIV. Sequal to Final Fantasy Four and a Half. It's been three years. A new terror is about to unleash itself, and two sisters are the only things that can stand in it's way. But with some help from their friends and family, they just might win the day...
1. Prologue

And so, we begin the second phase of the epic tale about Angel and Sefi, the twin princess of Baron.

As many of you might remember, when Angel took her Paladin trial on Mount Ordeals, KluYa, her grandfather, said that an evil was coming and that she must help best it. Later, after a series of unfortunate events, Angel also received a vision from Golbez, saying that she would help to win a terrible war (without her, that war is as good as lost, he'd said), and that she would rule as a great queen one day.

Though few doubt that the Lunarians are wrong, it's been three years and Angel, who was always skeptical about the prophesies, is quickly losing heart. When last we left her, she was serving as a skilled captain of the guard and seriously doubting the occurrence of any prophesied event.

Little does she know that all of these prophesies are about to come true. A new evil is coming on swift wings, disguised as something pathetic and wussy. A war is about to break out in the overworld; one where every paladin will be needed to help, but only two are left in the world: a brave king and a cocky princess.

Now that I have your attention, a prologue is in order.

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Prologue

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_The library was quiet. The only thing that moved was the light silk curtains, rustling on a breeze from the open window. Light streamed in from the window, covering everything with an ethereal, light gold sheen. The room was smaller than the other libraries in Castle Baron; the queen had adopted it as her own personal study. She particularly favored the way the light steamed in through the east-facing window during the morning and early afternoon. In one of the higher floors of a tower, it was one of the most tranquil rooms in the large, usually bustling castle._

_A woman in her mid 30's walked into the room, breaking the peaceful stillness, scattering it like butterflies from a flower bed, only for it to resettle as she sank into the high-backed red chair in the corner. She sat there for some time, enjoying the sunlight and quiet. _

_She was a lovely individual, her eyes a light blue and her hair light brown, cut at a slant (one side started below her jaw and gradually slopped down at an angle to her mid-back; a style she'd grown attached to her in her late teens). Her unruly hair was pinned back with a gold hairpin with daffodils etched into the metal. She was clad in a simple white dress that reached the floor and a mage's robe in her favorite color: magenta pink. _

_For a long time she did nothing. But finally she rose from the chair and walked to one of the long bookshelves on the wall. She slowly ran her fingers along the spines of the books on her eye level. After passing nearly 20 titles, she came to a spine with no name etched into it. She pulled it from the shelf and looked its cover: soft, plain leather with no name of any kind anywhere. She flipped open the cover, which creaked with its first use, to be greeted by a blank white page. She flipped through the rest of the pages of the thick leather book and found it to be completely empty and devoid of writing. _

Good,_ She thought._

_She took a pot of black ink and a quill pen from a nearby desk, the empty book tucked under her opposite arm. She set her writing utensils down on the end table beside her big red chair. She sank down into the chair, nestling herself down against the back, and sitting cross-legged in the seat; a habit which she saved for when she was alone (it wasn't dignified for royals to sit like this, but she thought that it was comfortable). She opened the book, dipped the quill pen into the ink, and set the pen to the paper._

_…………She hesitated, holding the pen just above the paper so she wouldn't stain it. She knew what she wanted to write; what she felt she _must_ write. But she had no idea how to write it. She stayed frozen like this for another long time, trying to think of how to start her book._

"Where do I begin," _She finally wrote, _"to tell of the Lunarian Wars? Where do I start to tell of the courage shown in those dark times? The fights were long, and hard to win. We cried, we loved, we laughed, we lived, and we fell by the wayside to end them.

"Wars are not glorious affairs; I, Queen Angel of Baron, had to learn that the hard way. I'm not sure what exactly it was that I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got when I received my first tastes of battle. As a paladin, I thought that I was indestructible. In fact, though my experiences with wars and battles, I have grown to fear them greatly (although I'm really quite slow to admit it). If ever you think that wars are easy and that they aren't to be feared, you think again, for you think like I did.

"Despite my fear of wars, I have found myself in the middle of many battles since the Lunarian Wars. Necessary battles, fought by people who threatened my kingdom. And that is what a ruler does: defends his (or her) host from what might hurt it. From what might hurt _you_, dear reader."

_Angel, the queen, paused and read back over the three paragraphs she'd just written. _Not bad, for starters,_ she thought._

"Anyways, where do I begin? I think I'll begin at the beginning; that seems like a pretty good place to start.

"You know of my previous adventures, of how I became a paladin and how my sister and I resolved the Mysidian Sea Crisis. Here, I give my personal account of the second Lunarian War, and the weeks leading up to it."

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I am back! Surely you didn't think you'd be rid of ol' Freida Right so easily?

And so the second phase of Angel and Sefi's saga begins. I bet you thought that the queen who claimed the study was Rosa, didn't you. Yeah, well, I've got the first several chapters mapped out already, so it won't be as played by ear as _Final Fantasy Four-and-a-Half_ was. In fact, I think it'll progress a lot faster; it's just going to be a question of when I'll actually be able to sit down and write. I should have enough time to run up the first two or three chapters (excluding this one) during Christmas break.

So, I've pretty much got my work cut out for me. I guess I've got a lot of work to do. Gotta go and either sleep or write; it's 11:40 at night and I'm tired, but I want to start the next chapter. We'll be picking up where I left Angel at the end of _Final Fantasy Four-and-a-Half_, on the castle barracks watching two travelers from Fabul approach the gate.

(yawn) Good night and good bye, my faithful friends.


	2. Many Strangers from the East

At the end of _Final Fantasy Four-and-a-Half,_ Angel was on the castle barracks, watching as two people strode up to the gate (she guessed that they were Fabulian from their clothing and weapons). Right after that she left to meet them. This is where Queen Angel is picking up, so we are picking up there too.

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Chapter 1: Many Strangers from the East

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"It all began on the day that _they_ showed up," _Queen Angel wrote with a rueful smirk. _"Kaelery and her brother, Odin, the prince and princess of Fabul." _The queen paused, contemplating what to say next. Memories of Kaelery hurt, and thinking of Odin made her skin prickle. She quickly set those thoughts aside for the moment and continued to write…_

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Down the wide, beaten path walked a tall, pale woman, dressed in a Fabulian dancer's sari wrapped around her hip and rather immodest top (too hot for a normal shirt in Fabul; particularly in the summer months and it was the middle of July). Though her features, clothing and the short sword on her hip all spoke of Fabul, or somewhere near there, her long, sun streaked brown hair, brown eyes and milk-white skin all said that she was either a mixed breed, had lived in Fabul for only a short time, or that she sought ways to keep her skin that way (a vain and tedious way for any woman to spend her time).

Beside her walked a boy, only an inch shorter than herself. He was most definitely from Fabul; everything about him, from his short, curly black hair to the cat-claws laced to his wrists told of a typical Fabulian youth. Dressed only in a pair of baggy pants and a thin linen shirt (once again, too hot for regular clothing), it was plain that his arms and chest were mainly large masses of muscle, built up from hard training over most of his life. His skin was the color of baked bread, his almond shaped eyes tiny black dots in his face. Though he looked like a tough, serious person, he was a most kind and wonderful boy to have around.

The path that they walked led them straight to the front gate of Castle Baron. As they drew near, the woman glanced down at her companion and said, "Remember, once we've entered the castle, only _I_ do the talking. You just stand there and do what you're told."

The boy scowled. "I don't have to listen to you," He mumbled. The woman heard, but pretended not to as she straightened her sari and ran her fingers through her hair. They approached the gate in silence.

"And just _where_ do you think you're going?" asked a voice from above. The two looked up and saw a young girl, leaning over the low barrack above them, one foot propped on the edge and resting both arms on that leg. Light brown hair reached down to her shoulder, but went up at an angle to meet her jaw; more of her brown locks fell in her face, despite the gold hair pin that wrestled with the thick tresses. Her light blue eyes had a bored look to them, but restlessness and attitude lay idle behind them with no reason to come out. Her expression and voice were both laden with boredom, but they were also quite serious.

"Don't you speak?" The girl demanded when neither of the travelers answered her question. "What are you doing?"

"We must get in. We are here to see the king and queen on an urgent personal matter that doesn't concern a guard," The woman started in a matter-of-fact, superior tone.

The girl on the barracks mimicked the woman in a rude tone of voice. Without a warning she leapt from the rise and landed on her feet with a thud, raising a cloud of dust about her. She was clad in a dark green shirt (which bore a midriff), a quiver on her back, as well as a sword. Dark brown pants reached down only past her knees, and gray boots stopped halfway to her knees. A small knife was settled in a sheath on her left boot. The strangest part of her outfit was a magenta pink bracelet on her wrist.

_She's kind of cute,_ The boy thought.

_If she dressed like any other guard, she might actually look nice enough to get a dowry. She looks like a five-year-old who dressed herself, _The woman thought.

"I am sorry, I am princess Kaelery, of Fabul," The woman introduced herself. "And this is my little brother, Prince Odin," She added, pointing at her companion. "And who are you to keep us from our appointment, if I might ask?"

"_I_ am the captain of the guard," The girl said, sounding irritated. "And no one sees the king and-or queen without clearing it with me," She added. "This had better be good."

"……. Our parents have sent us with a proposal for the royalty," Kaelery answered.

"Meh, fine. Come with me," The girl finally said. She turned around, fumbled with a thing on the wall, and the gate swung open. Briskly, the captain led the prince and princess down several hallways and indoor hallways.

After several doors, they came into an open space, where guards, mages and servants milled around looking very bored. When they saw the captain, many of them suddenly animated, saying hello and waving to her. Others, mostly mages and servants, were shy and slow to react beyond cautious waves and whispered greetings. The captain, in turn, said hello back, and addressed several people by name as she did so.

"You certainly seem to be popular," Kaelery noted snobbishly. If the captain noticed her tone, she ignored it as she answered, "Nice leaders bring about nice people; I'm a nice person in general."

_I'd sure like to get to know her better,_ Odin thought.

"One more door, I promise," The captain informed her followers as the emerged into yet another hall. They quickly crossed it and went through the last door, which opened into a much larger room. It was lit by several windows along the walls, rather than by torches. On a dias across the room were two thrones, but only one was occupied. The occupant was a strawberry-blonde woman who shone with the aura of a white mage. She was leaning over the arm of her chair, going over a stack of papers.

"Hi, mom. How are you?" The captain asked. The queen looked up with a start. "Oh, hello, honey. Who are your friends?" Asked the mage.

"_Mom? Honey?_" Kaelery nearly screamed.

"Oh, yeah; I forgot to tell you. I'm Princess Angel," The captain said casually to her guests.

"Angel, you shouldn't forget to tell strangers things like that," Queen Rosa scolded her daughter. "Now, who are they?"

"Mom, this is Princess Kaelery and Prince Odin, of Fabul. They say (or, rather _Kaelery_ says) that they're here on business. But they she won't tell me what that business is," Angel explained boredly.

"Your father and sister are on their way here," Rosa informed, and went back to her papers.

"I cannot believe that you are the princess!" Kaelery hissed at Angel. "You're a big part of his deal, and you can't be so incompetent for it to work!" "You seem to be worrying too much. I'm restless and rash, not incompetent," Angel corrected.

As Kaelery growled her obvious disapproval, the door next to the dias burst open and three people strode in. The first had an aura so bright that the other two went unnoticed for a moment. It was so bright, in fact, that it was impossible to tell what he looked like until he actually entered the room. His long hair was so blonde that it was almost white, and just as dazzling as his aura was. His blue eyes were just as shiny as the rest of him.

Behind him was a man clad in the armor of a dragoon. He carried his helmet under one arm and a lance in the other. Strangely enough, his unruly blonde hair was so wild that it seemed to match his profession.

The last person there was a tall girl with purple hair and dark blue eyes. In one hand she carried a bow carved of a dark brown wood, and a quiver full of arrows was slung over her back.

"Oh. It would seem that we have company," The shiny man said, sounding surprised. Even though he didn't have a crown of any kind, it was plain to see that he was Cecil, the Paladin King of Baron. "Who might they be?" He asked.

"The Prince and Princess of Fabul. Although they won't tell me what they're here for," Angel explained sulkily. "Maybe I would have told you if you'd said you were the Princess," Kaelery said shortly. Odin let his eyes wander to the ceiling and inched away from his sister, meaning to stay out of the impending fight.

"Oh no, don't tell me that you didn't say who you were again," Cecil scolded his daughter. The dragoon and archer behind him made annoyed noises and shook their heads saddly. "You know what happens when you don't say anything: you make a mess," The purple haired girl added, more like a tease than a scold.

"Please don't you start, Sef," Angel requested. The other girl smirked and crossed her arms defiantly, though she didn't say anything else.

"At any rate," Cecil said as he strode over to the dias, ascended the steps and sat in the empty throne, "I knew you two were coming; I just didn't know you'd come so fast. What's the hurry?"

"Well, now that I know who Princess Angel is, this is rather embarrassing for me," Kaelery admitted snobbishly. Angel scowled at the woman with disdain. "I'm not _so_ bad, once you get to know me," She muttered just loud enough for Kaelery to hear.

"Well I certainly hope that that's the case," Kaelery said in answer to Angel statement, "Because my parents are looking for a blood alliance between Fabul and Baron. They want my brother, Odin, to marry Angel," She announced.

"_What?!"_ Angel and Odin cried out at the same time.

"You said that it was going to be a surprise, not a nightmare," Odin shouted at Kaelery. "And maybe I don't want to be married," Angel added angrily.

"Angel's only 17; do you think she should be wed so soon?" The dragoon asked the king and queen. "No," Cecil and Rosa answered together. "The idea of my daughter being suddenly joined to a boy that we hardly know makes my skin crawl," Rosa said plainly. "And besides: I definitely think that she's still too young."

"Hmph. _I_ heard that you were 19 when you were married," Kaelery pointed out stubbornly. "19 is two more than 17. My answer is no," Rosa insisted, shaking her head. "I agree; and, quite honestly, I'm not ready to let either of my daughters go yet," Cecil added.

"Ditto," The dragoon put in.

"Everyone knows where I stand," The purple haired archer said. The Baronians nodded.

"And I _absolutely_ disagree. What were your parents thinking?" Angel demanded.

Kaelery was blushing deeply, trying to hide behind her hands. This wasn't going as smoothly as she'd first planned. "Mom and Dad thought that Angel was older. And I thought that she would be well behaved," Kaelery explained, her voice a bit smothered from behind her hands. "I object to that remark very strongly," Angel said, sounding as offended as anyone could be.

The purple haired girl was by Angel's side in a heartbeat, holding a restraining hand on Angel's shoulder. "Calm down, sis. Maybe she didn't realize that you were still here when she said that," She suggested in a weak attempt to calm Angel down. Angel didn't seem less angry, but she did relax ad unclench her fist for the first time since she came into the throne room. "That's a dumb idea, Sefi, but I'll calm down for you," Angel informed her sister glumly.

There was a crash somewhere nearby. Everyone except for Cecil and Angel jumped, startled by the noise. Nothing happened again for a moment. Odin and Kaelery noticed that all the attention was focused on the king, queen and princess, who were all ridged with concentration. Their eyes were glassy and blank, starring into nothingness.

After a second, they shook themselves from their trances and Angel told everyone to draw their swords. She, Cecil and Kaelery all pulled their swords from their sheaths. The dragoon readied his lance, Sefi and Rosa loaded their bows with arrows (Rosa kept her quiver and bow behind her throne), and Odin adjusted his cat-claws to a fighting position.

It was still; nothing moved, no sound came and everyone stood there, tense and silent. "Are you sure something's coming?" The dragoon asked after a minute had gone by. "Just wait for it, Kain. They'll be here," Cecil assured his friend. "Who'll be here?" Odin asked.

The windows suddenly shattered and fell to the floor in a shower of sparkling shards. Through the shards burst 30 or so bright yellow figures that fell delicately and gracefully to the floor. From their appearance, they were human, but they were clad for protecting their identities. Their clothes appeared to be of various eastern styles. The men were either bare handed or carried long, sharp swords forged from gold. The women had gold cat-claws strapped to their hands.

Their clothes were all made of the same bright yellow fabric; the men had mythril sewn to their shirts, and the women wore skirts and tops like Kaelery's. On their men's shirts was a rearing red dragon that bore an odd resemblance to the bahamut that Rydia used to summon. The women's tops were so skimpy that the dragon was pictured on their skirts. They all wore face vales that looked like a dragon's open mouth, bearing razor sharp teeth.

"Get them! Kill them all!" One of the strangers cried. The others all roared a battle cry and surged forward, weapons raised.

It felt good for all the royalty to move again; that tense wait had left them all feeling a bit stiff. They fell several of their foes, but there were still many to face. The strangers had the royalty surrounded with very little trouble.

"The boss said that it would be a challenge," Scoffed one of the strangers; the others all laughed.

Though the royalty was starring death in the face, their fortune took an interesting turn. Two of the strangers, a man and a woman, suddenly turned on their own force. It all happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that 10 of the reduced 20 foes were dead before anyone could react. The last 10 fell with ease after that.

"Sorry about that," The yellow-clad woman said as she pulled off her veil. The man pulled his veil off too, both of them revealing features of truly eastern descent. "We'd have been smoother, but we had to sneak in and there was no other way," She explained.

"Say, don't I know you?" Odin asked. "You two _do_ look familiar," Kaelery agreed. "You're the prince and princess of Fabul, aren't you?" The man asked, looking the brother and sister over. The two nodded. "Your parents hired us to be double agents when they heard our village was attacked, remember?" He asked.

"Oh, that's right. I remember now. Exelinterra and Kenjiki, right?" Kaelery asked. "Actually, we prefer 'Exeline' and 'Kenji'," The woman said coolly, adjusting her cat-claws to idle-stance. "But that's close enough."

"_What_ happened?" Cecil asked. "Those guys have attacked places before?" "We didn't think we'd need to discuss it," Kaelery said defensively. "But, long story short, these things attacked a village in the Fabulian Desert; Exeline and Kenji were part of the small party that got away, and they ran to Fabul to warn everyone. Mom and dad hired them to be double agents," She explained.

"If Yang could send you two here for a really bad reason, why didn't he let us know about that? We might have been able to wipe this problem out at its roots," Rosa demanded crossly. "I would swear that people are actually trying to tick us off." "They didn't know that these people would get as far as Baron. They thought that it would be a waste of time to tell you," Kaelery said.

Kain made an angry noise and kicked one of the corpses.

"They call themselves Doom Ninjas," Kenji said, referring to the strangers. "The name is pretty accurate, actually. They've spelled doom for many desert villages in Fabul's southern area. There have even been some places where the population was completely wiped out."

"Why the yellow? Yellow's too conspicuous for ninjas," Angel asked (she knew quite a bit about the habits of a ninja). "And why the red dragon?" Sefi asked. "The man who got the Doom Ninjas together in the first place calls himself 'Red Bahamut; he claimed a red dragon as his emblem," Exeline explained. "The yellow... I don't know. The color of desert sand, perhaps?" She suggested. Apparently, it wasn't really something that she or her partner gave much thought to.

_Edge would be furious if he knew this,_ Angel thought. _But Eblan is an eastern kingdom. Does he know already?_

"We believe that if the Doom Ninjas have gotten this far north, Red Bahamut is far more serious than we thought; we thought that he was just raiding the eastern areas for the few resources they have, out of spiteful boredom," Kenji explained. "If he's determined enough to come and try to kill a completely uninvoloved family, then we need more than just a pair of spies."

"Yes. We'll need a full alliance; the Doom Ninja's numbers are growing steadily. If we are to counteract it, we need all the help we can get," Exeline agreed. "I hope that you all know a lot of powerful people," She said to the Baronians.

"As a matter of fact," Kain offered, "We do. We're pretty good friends with all the royalty in the overworld _and_ the underworld." "Sefi and I have personal connections to the princess of Damcyan," Angel added. "And the elders of Mysidia are friends of ours too," Sefi added quickly, almost finishing her sister's last thought (twins can do that sometimes).

"Ah yes. We've heard tales about this extraordinary family. The story of your sojourn three years ago is an epic tale where we come from, though it is apparent to me that the heir to Baron's throne isn't seven feet tall afterall," Kenji said.

Angel smirked, in spite herself. The eastern version of her paladin trial story said that she was seven feet tall! Imagine that!

"Is it possible to get all of your firends together in one place to discuss that matter at hand?" Exeline asked. "That can be done easily, though somewhat slowly," Cecil explained. "To cover all of the overworld, we'd have to go by airships. And though that's faster than walking and sailing everywhere, we still can't go everywhere in a day. Perhaps we could split up in different groups and cover the kingdoms in our path."

"Now _there's_ a plan," Kenji agreed. "But maybe I could add to it? Your daughters are friends with princess Rella: send them to Damcyan. You and your wife will fly west, the dragoon will fly north, the prince and princess will fly back to their parents in Fabul, and Exeline and I will fly to Mysidia. After we have everyone, we will gather in Mysidia," He explained as Cecil listened carefully. "How does that sound?" The easterner asked.

"I like it," Cecil said, sounding impressed with how fast Kenji had concocted this plan. "We still won't be able to cover all the overworld in a day, but at least we won't spend a month buzzing about. Let's get to it."

"Sounds like the makings of another historic adventure to me," Kain said cheerily, happy to be on his feet and working again. "What else do we do anymore?" Rosa asked teasingly. "It's all we do."

"Haste! Haste! We're wasting time standing around talking about it! Let's go!" Exeline insisted, walking to the door.

"To the airships!" Angel and Sefi cried together and rushed past everyone else and back through the door.

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Yay! First real chapter posted! I'm so sorry it took me so long to write it. But I had Christmas break and I did a whole lot of stuff and didn't have any time to write (but I did find time to start a new fic for a completely different genre and get up to chapter 3 on it), and now I've got school aain, and my computer broke last week. No one could fix it and I nearly died; but my ex-boyfirend's dad is a computer geek, so he came over and fixed it, so I lived... But just barely.

So, anyway, I'll have the next chapter up sooner this time (I hope), and we'll see what the twins do next! Adios!


	3. Friends Around the World

Um… yeah… Guess who keeps getting grounded due to bad grades…?

No! I serious! I have to make all 90's and above on my report card to be able to use the computer, and I never quite reach it. But I did it this time! Haha!

Sorry to keep my loyal fans waiting for so long. I'm sure it was torture, but I'm back in business, and you can stop worrying… At least for the summer.

Well, enough chatting about hard times. On with the show!

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Chapter 2: Friends Around the World

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The airships were no big deal to the Baronians, and not tremendous breath-takers to the Fabulians either; it was Exeline and Kenji who nearly fainted at their sheer mass. The biggest one at the floating dock was twice the size of a fine pirate sloop.

"They're _huge_!" Exeline gasped. "Wonderful, aren't they?" Sefi asked proudly. "I helped to build the big one," She added, very nearly

glowing.

"Which big one?" Kenji asked; they all seemed the same size to him. Sefi pointed down the line to the biggest ship, which was also the last. "That's the one. I accidentally crashed our last biggest ship in the Damcyan desert three years ago, so I helped build its replacement," She explained. "The engineer also let her name the ship when they were done," Angel added. "She named it _The Eclipse_, 'cause it's the biggest airship we've ever had in our fleet. Sheesh; we thought _The Enterprise _was big, but we were wrong!"

"Cid's always creating new standards for things. If he keeps it up, he'll kill himself," Rosa complained, a hint of amusement coming through the aggravation. The others of her family nodded and murmured their agreement.

_Hmph. They're just airships,_ Kaelery thought, quite unimpressed.

"I don't think we'll need so much room," Kain said practically. "We'll be splitting up, anyway. We shouldn't take _The Eclipse_ unless we really need it."

"That's a good point, Kain. No one will notice small airships flying around the world, at any rate. Smaller ships for all of us," Cecil agreed.

"Will someone who knows how to drive go with us?" Kenji asked. "Exeline and I are going to Mysidia, and we can't drive." "We haven't even seen an actual airship until just now," Exeline put in. "I'll go find Cid and tell him to drive you there," Rosa offered and started back to the door. She turned back around and called, "I'll be back," to everyone before vanishing through it.

"You two shouldn't wait on your mother," Kain advised the twins. "Go now and get your friend from Troia or Damcyan or wherever it is she's from."

The twins both nodded in agreement and ran down the row of ships. Sefi randomly picked one and ran to the gangplank. Angel followed her up and onto the deck. Sefi checked the control panel to make sure that everything was working well enough to suit her expectations.

"Everything's here, Angel; we're all set. Know where Red would be right about now?" Sefi asked. "Troia, I believe," Angel asked, looking up from inspecting some ropes attached to the mast (though she didn't drive the ships like her sister, she knew how to conduct safety checks onboard them).

"Troia it is, then!" Sefi cried happily. She pulled a lever and the ship rumbled lightly. The rumbling picked up intensity, forcing Angel to brace herself on the rail. Sefi held tighter to the helm and planted her feet hard on the deck. _I love these things,_ They both thought at the same time.

Angel looked back toward the door at the remaining company, her father and uncle, the Fabulians and the two ninjas. As the ship began to dislodge itself from the dock and the wind began to blow through her hair, she waved at everyone watching her. Everyone waved back, except for Kaelery, who was apparently to cool or dignified to wave to anybody.

_Oh, what do I care if she doesn't wave to me?_ Angel thought as the ship sped off. _What I wouldn't give to see Exeline and Kenji melting right now._ That last thought made her giggle.

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Tracking down Red, the fire mage and princess of Damcyan, wasn't that hard. Once every other month or so she went to Troia because she was also Troia's god-princess. This happened to be that once-every-month-or-so. There they found not only Red but both her parents, King Edward of Damcyan and Alara the white mage. The reunion was unexpected and quite confusing for many people, and it wasn't very interesting or important, so we'll skip through all that and go right to a few days later, when the airship they were on came to rest on the island on which Mysidia was located. Needless to say that after so many days on an airborne airship, it was good to be on solid ground again.

It was also apparent from the two other airships on the outskirts of town that everyone else was already here and waiting; every other person who had fought along side the Baron royalty was waiting here for these final five travelers to arrive. So the five hurried to the tower at the north end of the city.

As they walked up the path that led to the tower's front door, they noticed three people standing on the porch talking to each other. One of them was Odin; the other two were Palom and Porom, the twin mages who had been running the city for the past three years (but you probably know that story already).

Odin was the first to see company approaching. "Hey!" he called to them, making the mages look up to see what was happening. "It took you long enough to get here. Where'd you girls go; back to Baron?"

"Stop being so sarcastic, smart guy," Sefi warned as she came closer. She sounded like she was going to continue, but her jaw snapped closed again and her pale skin blushed like a rose when she realized that Palom was looking at her.

Quite suddenly, Palom walked up to her and hugged her (he _might_ have hugged Angel, but Sefi was closer). "I've missed you guys! How've you been? You doin' alright? I wanna know!" He cried, obviously not knowing that Sefi was suffocating in his grip.

"Palom," Porom scolded her brother, "Stop making a spectacle of yourself. You the Elder; act like it!" Simply for good measure (and for old time's sake, since Angel and Red were already dying of laugher) she whacked the back of his head as sharply as she could.

"Ow!" Palom exclaimed, releasing Sefi and rubbing his head. "I thought we'd gotten through that phase," he said, his voice bordering on a whine.

Red recovered enough of her breath to remark, "In three years he hasn't changed at all!" before lapsing into her laughing fit.

"You know, he really hasn't," Porom informed, opening the front door and dragging her brother into the tower by the wrist. "You'd think he'd have learned by now, but—"

A bunch of people inside moaned loudly. "Not this argument again," someone said (if the twins had to guess, they'd have both said that it was Edge, the ninja king of Eblan; and they'd have been right).

"What?" Porom asked everyone. "It's an important argument!"

No one seemed to believe her, because they all protested again.

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"Now that we are all here (at last)," Palom said to the group in front of him, "I'll be a nice elder, like my sister told me to do, and welcome you all to Mysidia. As I think you all know, we Light Warriors have a new threat to face down; and here we are, together again, to figure out how to defeat it. Without further ado, here's Cecil and Kenjiki to give a full rundown," He said a little too casually, and took a seat next to Porom (who was resisting the urge to whack him again).

Cecil and Kenji rose from their places and went to the front of the room. Someone started clapping loudly; it was Aron, Edge and Rydia's three year old son, who apparently thought that it was only the right thing to clap for his uncle. Rydia, the summoner queen, quickly quieted her son and told him not to do that anymore.

"Sorry about that," She said, a bit embarrassed by her son's antics. Cecil shook his head. "Don't be sorry; he's only three. He doesn't know any better," He insisted.

"But anyways," Kenji said, "We have a serious problem. There is a person, somewhere in the Eastern region of the world we're pretty sure, who is recruiting people for an army. He's training them to fight like ninjas and then sending them out to raid the desert's small villages. We, Exeline and I, thought that they were containing themselves to that area, but several days ago, they attacked Baron: not only an area to the south, but an entire _kingdom_ besides, with no relation whatsoever."

"How did they get to Baron in the first place?" Yang, the king of Fabul wanted to know.

"Beats me; they sailed, they swam… they sprouted fully fledged wings and flew—I don't know," Kenji answered. Though it wasn't the best way to answer his employer, let alone the king of an entire nation, it was a good answer.

"Why should they attack in the first place?" Alara asked. "If they attacked a place so far away from them, then there _must_ be a good reason. What does Baron possess that these people could want? What precious things would they be willing to work so hard to get?" She asked.

"Our best resource is our airships," Cecil informed the white mage. "But most easterners don't know how to drive them; they wouldn't want an airship," He explained.

"And besides," Edge added, "Airships are too loud for a proper ninja attack. Any _real_ ninja would opt for a boat, a working set of feet or nothing." At this, a murmur of agreement rose up from the room. After knowing Edge for a long time, this advice either wrung a bell or made perfect sense. Aron had to admire his father for a moment for knowing things that he himself didn't.

"_Is_ there anything else that they might want from us?" Sefi asked her family. There was no answer from anyone from her home.

"If I might say," Edward pointed out, "Cecil and Angel are pretty special and rare in their own right. Perhaps….?"

"Why would they want us? They can't use us… At least not for what they do," Angel stated. She and her father help these terrorizing little cretins? No way!

"But you _could_ get in their way, should you find out about them," Exeline said after thinking for a minute. As she spoke, a very grim realization came over the group.

"Oh dear," the two sets of twins said at the same time.

"We've got to find them and stop them all," Kenji informed everyone. "If I'm right, we already have a sizeable force here, plus the fighters of all the kingdoms combined; I think we've got somewhat of an advantage here."

"Not enough… not enough," Exeline fretted. "There are too many ninjas to contend with. Even if all the kingdoms unite, they will still be outnumbered."

"How's that possible?" Rydia asked. "I didn't know there were so many people living in the eastern deserts."

"We don't know how there are so many doom ninjas. There aren't that many people able to survive out there. And yet there's an army of them," Kenji explained.

"Is there anyone else who can contribute to our cause?" Exeline asked everyone.

"Various small villages on the western continent," Cecil offered.

"And the dwarves," Rosa added.

"Should we go and get them?" Cecil asked the spies.

"It would be a good idea. The more firepower, the better," Kenji agreed.

"Great. Rosa and I will go to the underworld and talk to the dwarf king; Giott is a personal friend of ours. I'm sure he'll listen to us," Cecil volunteered.

"We're coming too," Angel and Sefi stated together.

"Don't forget me!" Red said, jumping up and joining her friends.

Palom and Porom looked at each other, Porom doubtful, and Palom beggingly. Porom looked like she was going to say no to what Palom was going to ask, but he looked at her harder and she clearly gave in to her brother. They both rose from their chairs.

"We're in too," Porom said.

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On a single airship, the seven companions flew toward the opening to the dwarf kingdom. They were still several hours away from their destination and watching the water speed away from beneath them like a ground made of sapphire. Slowly, an faint green line far from their view began to grow into one long strip of solid green ground, and in a few hours more, they were over tree dotted land.

Red had relieved Sefi's position at the helm (remember how Sefi taught her how drive an airship?), and the purple haired archer was now leaning on the railing, watching the various forests fall behind the ship as it went on it's course. She was suddenly aware of someone approaching her; she looked up to see that it was Palom.

"I heard from your sister that you helped to build this thing last year," He said, setting next to Sefi on the rail.

"Well, yeah. Built a good deal of it with my own hands," Sefi informed him proudly if not shakily. "Working with airships is so rewarding and fun to do. I'm happy that Cid got me into it."

"Have you figured out how to be a dark archer yet?" Palom asked.

"Working on it. Dark power meets archery; it's physically demanding. But I figured it out, none the less. Daddy actually helped me, if you can believe it."

"Wow. Good for you. Also heard that Angel is the captain of the guard, and that you are one of the best archers in Baron (besides your mother). That's amazing! You and your sister are two of the most fascinating girls I've ever met."

"What about Porom?"

"Porom's smart, but she isn't fascinating. She tries not to go beyond the boundary line and tries to keep me there with her."

Sefi had to laugh. "You're funny. I'm happy that you guys haven't changed."

"Someone's coming!" Angel yelled, running out of the cabin where she and Rosa had been playing poker (another vibe exercise for Angel). "There's an airship on our tail, and they look ready to fight!"

"I saw the same thing," Rosa said, joining Angel. "I think they were Doom Ninjas."

"Then everyone get ready to fight," Palom directed, jumping into action. "Red, you keep steering; don't move away from the helm for _anything_. Angel and Sefi to the railing, weapons ready. Rosa, stand over there, in the middle of the deck—no, further in; that's good. Have your heal spells ready. Where are Cecil and Porom? We need them over here."

Porom appeared from the back of the ship and Cecil emerged from B-deck almost as if on que, slightly dazed by the yelling that had roused them from the vibes they'd been milking themselves. Cecil immediately noticed that Palom was lining everyone on board up to fight the attackers: all the fighters were they can reach the attackers and the white mages in the center where the fighters could shield the offenses.

"Have you been reading a knight's manual?" Cecil asked the black mage.

"It's all that I get for letting Porom talk me into reading. Stand…… there, next to Sefi. Block any attack that comes her way until you and Angel can reach the ninjas; she's—"

"The only one who will be able to hit anything for a while, _I know_. Don't tell me how to do my job, boy," Cecil warned, amused and impressed with Palom anyway.

Almost as soon as everyone was ready another airship slunk up next to them, and the deck was covered with the Doom Ninjas that Rosa had predicted. Sefi put an arrow in her bow and let it fly. It landed buried in one man's chest, and prompted the other ninjas to begin firing the ship's cannons.

"Red! We need a slightly high elevation!" Palom called to the driver.

"Sefi, which button?" Red yelled.

"The blue lever will turn the nose up a little bit: pull it down and then put it back after a few feet. Just high enough that their cannons can't get us," Sefi directed as she loaded her bow four times, hitting her target every time.

Red did as she was told and the nose of the ship began to climb, causing bad footing for all the fighters. The ship began to climb after the nose and Red pushed the lever back up, setting the ship just above the heads of the ninjas.

Once again, Sefi began bombarding the ninjas with arrows, felling several foes before Palom began hitting the enemies with a fire and then an ice attack. Many ninjas took shurikens and other sharp throwable objects to the party. Most of these were evaded, but Sefi took a hit to her right arm and Palom got hit in the head; these wounds were quickly dealt with by the white mages behind them.

"There might be too man of them," Sefi pointed out to Palom. "I'm running out of arrows fast, and you can't keep up the spells forever; Angel and Daddy can't even reach anyone unless they jump on the deck!"

"So what do you propose we do?" Palom demanded as he began a lightning spell.

"Angel, can't you summon spirits or something?" Sefi asked her twin.

"That's a good idea," Angel agreed. "But I can't summon enough of them on my own. I'll need help."

Sefi smiled. "I'll call for FuSoYa, and you call for Golbez," she suggested.

"I can help!" Palom added. "Who can I call on?"

"You can call on spirits?" Angel asked skeptically.

"I do all the time," Palom said disdainfully. "I actually call on Tellah's spirit for help sometimes," he explained, though he seemed sheepish about admitting it. "And Porom can summon Mom too."

"Great. Get Porom over here and tell her to start calling," Angel directed.

"Don't leave me out," Red yelled from the helm. "Porom taught me how to summon spirits last summer. Do you think Anna would help us if I asked?"

"Who's Anna?" all the twins asked together.

"You mean Tellah's daughter?" Cecil asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that's her. Think she'd help?"

"Worth a shot," Angel said with a shrug. "Swap places with Daddy and come help us," she called to her friend. Cecil ran to take the wheel from Red, who was already running to the rail.

Angel began breathing slowly; concentrating on the call she was sending to her uncle.

_Hello? Uncle Golbez, can you hear me? Please answer me!_

_What took you so long to ask?_ Golbez asked through a form of telepathy. _I've been waiting to hear from my favorite niece for three years!_

_I need your help… Again. _

_What can I do for you this time? Need another life-spark ruby?_

_Do you think you can help fend off these ninjas?_

_Ninjas? What sort of danger is Cecil putting you all in _this_ time?_

_It doesn't matter right now! They are after us, trying to _kill_ us! Will you help or not?_

_Don't yell at me, Angel. I nearly took over the entire Blue Planet; I'm than able to hurt you, despite the distance,_ Golbez reprimanded.

_Sorry, sir. I'm just really stressed right now,_ Angel apologized.

From the silence, Angel guessed that Golbez must be assessing the problem through her own eyes (she'd been told that spirits could do that without you knowing).

_We, the spirits the others are summoning and I, have discussed the matter, and have come to a conclusion,_ Golbez finally announced to Angel.

_Really? What?_

_You have to jump onto the other ship and begin fighting._

"Are you _insane_?!" Angel yelled out loud. Apparently, the other spirits had given the others similar advice, because they all cried out in alarm as well.

_It's the only way, Angel. You'll just have to trust me._

_There's _no_ other way?_

_Sorry; no. Just do it and you'll see what we mean._

Angel was sorely afraid of the task that lay before her; if they so much as stepped onto the other deck, they'd all be slashed to ribbons before they had a chance to do anything.

Along with her other friends, Angel took another deep breath, and ran to the other side of the deck without answering the questions the adults now had to ask.

They all braced themselves, savored what was probably their last look at the sun, and ran to jump over the railing.

Rosa paled when she realized what the kids were all doing. "Wait! Don't do it!" she screamed. But it was in vain: all five of them leapt over the railing and fell into the open air.

Angel also savored the feeling of freefalling. She felt light, free, like she was flying. But at the same time the wind rushed into her face and through her hair from below, reminding her that she was still falling. It was a fun feeling; a nice vacation from the searing fear she faced. Though the wind drowned out all the doom ninjas on the deck below, she could still hear Porom let out a cry of fear, for she'd never really liked heights.

The five friends all landed on the other ship with a series of thumps. They all braced themselves for the pain of swords ripping them to bits, but it never came for some reason. Angel chanced a glance at her attackers and saw five people holding them off. She hadn't seen the five there before; it was like they'd materialized out of nowhere. Then she noticed that the sun was shining through them, like a gauze sheet.

One of the figures, a young red-headed woman in a light yellow dress turned to them with a look of earnestness on her face. She held a short sword in her hand, and her fingers were busy working a high leveled spell of some sort.

"Well don't just stand there," she ordered. "Stand and fight!"

The spirit's voice was that of a typical woman of her apparent years, and quite clear; the companions all heard it like someone had rung a bell in their ears. But her voice was hollow and thin, like it was carried on the wind from many miles away.

Without another moment's hesitation, the five friends jumped to their feet and joined the summoned spirits in combat. All around, they could recognize their respective summons by what they were doing. Clad in his heavy black armor, wielding a big black sword, Golbez's spirit swirled through the clouds of ninjas around him, felling them in massive numbers. Beside him, holding her small yet powerful short sword, Anna's graceful form alternated between casting spells and cutting down any enemy in her path. FuSoYa, Angel and Sefi's Lunarian grand-uncle, was casting some kind of spell that resulted in a powerful energy blast on the ninjas, knocking each one it touched unconscious (at the very least). Tellah, the famous sage, was having a blast hitting the ninjas with every spell in his diverse arsenal, watching with a morbid sort of glee that no one there thought was possible for a spirit. And, finally, the unfamiliar form of Palom and Porom's mother was casting her own spells, struggling to keep the long brown hair that she had passed to her children out of her face.

Angel was so caught up in the mess of the battle that she didn't notice the ship dipping lower and lower to the ground. Nor could she hear her parent's frantic cries of warning from above them. Palom was the one who alerted her to the problem.

"No one's driving this ship!" He yelled, getting everyone's attention. All the passengers, even the spirits, all looked up in alarm. The first thing the doom ninjas did was all mutter something in a dead Eastern language; an instant later, they were all disappeared, leaving the five spirits and their summoners alone of board.

Red's first reaction was to run to the helm and try to steer. Palom stopped her. "There's no point:" he explained. "The ship's too low to bring it back up; it's going to crash nose first, and you'll have _no_ chance at all."

Porom ran at her brother and smacked him on the head. "Look around you, you idiot! _We_ don't have a chance either!"

Her mother's spirit came over and smacked her as well. "Don't hit your brother," she scolded. "And don't call him an idiot. He has a point."

"Someone's coming," Sefi said abruptly, pointing behind them. Coming towards them was a growing black dot with something riding it. As it drew near, they could see that it was a large black chocobo; even closer and they could see that prince Odin was the rider.

"What in Zemoth's name are _you_ doing here?" Angel demanded as soon as Odin was in ear shot.

"Dad told me that he had a bad feeling about letting you guys go on alone, so he made me come after you," Odin explained. "I was kinda skeptical at first… Guess that Dad was right after all."

"Is there room for all of them?" Anna asked.

Odin turned to look at the spirits and a look of shock came over his face. "Who—_what_ are they? Where did they come from?"

"Spirits; long story. Answer the question," Palom said sternly, and unusually to the point.

"Of course there's enough room. Everyone get on before the ship crashes!"

"Step aside," Red commanded. "Princesses coming through." She stepped through the crowd, followed by Angel and Sefi, and mounted the chocobo. Palom and Porom quickly followed suit.

"Thanks for your help, guys," Palom called back to the spirits. "Don't be surprised if we call again soon."

"We'll be waiting, kid," Tellah assured him.

The black chocobo lifted away and took off from the ship. The spirits all faded from view as the ship collided with the ground, exploding and falling to bits.

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Cecil and Rosa were well out of view of the ninja's ship within minutes of the kid's boarding. Needless to say that they were both scared silly, but there was nothing they could do about it right now.

But when they heard the airship hit the ground behind them and the looked back to see the explosion, well, they both would have fainted if Rosa weren't a white mage and Cecil weren't driving.

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This chapter took a very long time, I'm aware of that. I went as fast as I could. I've been on vacations and didn't have a computer to work on.

Anyways, I guess that I have a lot of apologizing to do; especially to AngelWings008 and maybe Partially Crazy for being away for so long. As I said, I was grounded for a really long time for a pretty stupid reason, and when summer finally started I started this chapter only to go on a month's worth of vacations and couldn't work on it. Well, I _finally_ made it through and here it is.

Please don't hurt me for taking so long. I've got whiffle bats and I'm not afraid to use them!

Frieda


	4. Over, Around, Under and Through

Hopefully, since this chapter is pretty short, I haven't kept you waiting for long. So, I'll spare you another apology ('cause I'm _really_ sorry!) and move right along.

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Chapter 3: Over, Around, Under and Through

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Giott, the Dwarf King, was very surprised when his guards walked in with two guests. He was even more surprised when the guard announced them as Cecil and Rosa, his old friends from the overworld.

"My dear, dear friends!" Giott cried, leaping from his little throne and running to them as quickly as his stumpy dwarf legs could carry him. "What brings you down here? …And why do you look so sad?"

"We need your help," Cecil said, ignoring Giott's question. "Someone is trying to kill me and take over the world. We can't do it alone; can you assist us?"

"What do you me just yourself? Not your lovely wife? Or your daughters? _Just you_? I've never fathomed that!" Giott said, still too blinded by his joy to see that they both twinged.

"Say, where _are_ your daughters, anyway?" a pretty dwarf girl asked from the back wall.

"An excellent question, Luca," Giott said. "They should be with you, should they not?"

Rosa was about to start crying at that moment, when the metal doors behind them flung open and six people walked in, most of them with the ruin of battle covering them. The king and queen nearly fainted again: it was Angel and Sefi, along with Palom, Porom, Red and Odin.

"Sorry that we're late," Angel said nonchalantly. "The airship was going down, but Odin came to save us."

"Very tactful, I you ask _me_," Sefi added, wiping a thin trickle of blood off of her chin.

"So, are you guys done recruiting those dwarves yet?" Palom asked earnestly.

"What's the matter, Palom? So anxious to leave?" Luca asked from her corner by her uncle's gold and copper throne.

Palom looked over to the back of the room and saw the dwarf princess standing near the throne, watching him with glisteningly seductive black eyes.

"Oh…. Hello, Luca," Palom said nervously to her. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Too long, indeed," Luca agreed.

Porom glared at Luca menacingly, as if she was warning Luca to stay away from her brother with her intimidating gaze. Luca let her eyes wander into the rafters, though she still looked fidgety in the line of Porom's blazing sight.

_What in FuSoYa's name is going on between them?_ Sefi wondered nervously. She was quickly aware of a fuzzy sort of presence beside her, whispering in her ear, as she realized that she accidentally summoned the Lunarian to her.

_Isn't it obvious, grand-niece? _It asked her.

_What do you mean?_ Sefi demanded.

_Well, it maybe over and dead now, but Palom's clearly had feelings for this Luca girl before. _

_Don't say that!_

_Why does it bother you so? He clearly doesn't like her _now_. Porom doesn't seem to think much of her either._

_But... But... I don't know. It just seems so wrong!_

_Hmph. With the way you carry on, you'd think you were in love with the boy,_ FuSoYa scolded. His presence faded away, leaving Sefi alone once more.

_Well, actually... I kinda _am, Sefi confessed in her mind, grateful that FuSoYa didn't actually hear.

The conversation had taken little more than a second to take place, and things were still unfolding before her.

Palom and Luca's exchange had left Porom very tense and angry, Giott fidgety, and everyone else extremely confused.

"Um... All we really need is Giott's answer to our call for help," Cecil stated, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the room.

"Oh, that? Certainly I'll help!" Giott cried happily, bringing the regular sense of dwarven glee and joy back into the room. "What do you need? I'll gladly supply it."

"A lot of dwarves and a lot of tanks," Rosa answered. "How fast do you think you can muster every fighter down here and have them in Baron?"

"Phew! That'll take a while: two weeks, perhaps. But don't look so sad, my dear," Giott said when Rosa's face fell again. "I'll be as fast as I can, and I'll be there; maybe not right away, but I'd never desert my friends. You can count on me!"

"Excellent. We'll be waiting for you, then," Cecil said, obviously eager to get out of the room (he was still edgy about Luca; she was a nice little girl 17 years ago, when she was tiny. Now, there was something weird about her that was driving his paladin senses berserk).

"Come one, you lot," the king summoned his group. "We've got to get back to Mysidia." Without a word, they all followed him out of the throne room.

"Don't worry about a thing, Cecil!" Giott called after them. "I've got it all under control!"

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Once again, they were flying; only over craggy rock and seas of lava this time. Odin was standing as far from the railing as he could when he saw Cecil walking towards him.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my daughters," Cecil said to the prince. "I'm not sure where you came from or how you got there so fast, but you came, nonetheless. Thank you, so very much."

"It's nothing; knowing you, Dad figured there'd be trouble. He sent me to keep an eye on you. I didn't know that it would be the girls I'd need to watch." Odin explained.

"You seem like such a good kid," Cecil commented. "You'll make an excellent king one day."

"Thank _you_, your majesty," Odin said proudly.

"Daddy," Sefi called from the helm, "I can see sunlight. Should I fly for it?"

"Yes, you should," Cecil instructed, walking to her. "Once we're back upstairs, we'll set you and the others down on the mountains; you'll all hike down to Agart. Your mother and I are going to Mythril, and will be back to get you and the last of our overworld-recruits around sunset. Clear?"

"Like the crystals," Sefi answered, turning the nose of the ship up toward the huge opening in the ceiling/ground.

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Once they were on the rugged mountain range that surrounded the entrance to the underworld, the kids all watched as the airship flew away, toward Mythril, leaving them to hike down the mountains to Agart.

This was a tedious and challenging job, for the mountains were very uneven, and many of the rocks were sharp. Detours were many, and the going was long and hard. After two hours of hard work, they'd finally made it halfway down the range.

"Daddy said they'd be back by sunset," Sefi stated, checking to see how much more daylight would be allotted to them. "I'm glad it only midday."

"We might need more time that," Palom said, eyeing the massive boulder blocking their way. "I don't think we can move this thing before sunset; if we can move it _at all_."

"Oh! I can move it!" Red announced.

"Really? How?" Porom asked, somewhat doubtful.

"I can blast it with my fire spells."

"But that might cause an avalanche," Odin protested.

"But it's our only shot," Angel countered. "We certainly can't move it; and I'll be damned if we can climb it. Red's gonna have to blast it."

"Yeah! Step aside and let the master work," Red said excitedly, walking to the front of the group. She pressed her hands together and began whispering the incantation for the firaja spell. As soon as it was ready, she threw her hands up at the boulder and shouted, "Firaja!" as loudly as she could. A blazing hot stream of red yellow and orange burst from her hands and into the huge rock, shattering it into many pieces. When she was done, most of it was gone: you could jump over the thing now.

"You see?" Sefi said to Odin. "Nothing to worry about."

Red turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. While she was looking, she noticed that Porom and Angel had gone stiff, their eyes glassy and blank.

As soon as they were conscious again, she asked, "What happened? What did you see?"

Porom looked worried at the most; Angel blanched, not liking what she'd seen.

"Avalanche," they said together.

"Ha! I told you all that the fire spell was a bad idea," Odin said.

Angel was blushing deeply, not really from shame but from anger. _That dude is _really_ starting to bug me!_ She thought.

"Alright, so my spell triggered an avalanche; what do we _do _about it?" Red demanded of the monk.

Odin put two fingers to his mouth and gave a harsh whistle that hurt everyone's ears. After waiting for a minute for something to happen, all that they noticed was the rumbling vibrations of the avalanche, growing more and more powerful.

"What exactly are we waiting for, kid?" Palom demanded.

"The chocobo," Odin answered.

"I thought you left him on the ship," Sefi said irritably.

"She'll come if she hears my whistle. It's a magic calling-spell that I received a long time ago."

"She'll come as fast as she did before?" Angel inquired.

"Questions, questions. You and your sister should answer more than you ask. You might find it fun."

At tat moment, as the vibrations forced everyone to the ground, the black chocobo swooped around the side of the mountain and landed on the leveled boulder, ready for boarding.

"Let's go, everybody. That avalanche won't wait forever," Odin called over the rumbling, running to his chocobo and mounting it. His companions followed him closely; even though two of them would have rather perished in the avalanche at the moment.

The chocobo took to the air just as a wave of dirt and rock surged from the side of the mountain, covering everything on the trail where they'd been standing.

"Quick thinking," Palom admitted. "That was so close that I never want to do that again."

Everyone immediately turned to stare at him disbelievingly and shocked.

"Well, it was still good thinking," Porom added. "That's the second time _today_ that you've saved us."

"That's right," Red realized. "Thanks!"

Sefi and Angel didn't say anything. They were both too upset.

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As Cecil had said, he and Rosa returned to Agart around the time the sun was setting. And, as Sefi had promised after they landed, the king and queen found their friends at the local inn, tired looking and eating their food ravenously,.

"Hey! Recruiting people from a remote village to fight for the freedom of a distant kingdom is draining!" Sefi retorted halfway between bites.

"So, the work didn't go so well?" Rosa guessed.

They all shook their heads.

"Apparently, they think that it's not worth their time, since _you_ spend all your time feasting and partying in your castle, while _they_ slave away in the fields that feed you, make the clothes that you wear and raise the children that fight your wars. 'Don't you have enough of our children fighting your wars? Aren't you brave strong types big enough to fight your own battles? Don't you take enough of our food for yourselves?'" Palom explained, imitating the unreasonable townsfolk they'd spoken with earlier.

"So how many did you actually get together?" Cecil asked.

Angel sighed. She responded by holding up seven fingers.

"_Seven?!_" Rosa asked disbelievingly. "You talked to them all and you only recruited seven people?"

Angel nodded wearily. "Some of the other 116 or so of them threw eggs and rocks at us, they were so angry. It was a _bad_ day."

"But one of the seven is the nice owner of this inn," Red added cheerily. "He's allowing us to stay the night... With a discount."

"No time, I'm afraid," Cecil informed. "Mysidia's three days away by air and we can't waste time. "We must leave now."

"Well count me done and ready to board, then," Palom said, pushing his plate away and rising from his chair.

Porom smacked his leg, prompting him too look down at her.

"Wipe you mouth."

Palom scowled at her and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"Better?"

"Yes; but next time, use a napkin, _please_."

Palom rolled his eyes and headed for the door.

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Yup... (surveys her chapter and nods her head) Looks pretty good to me!

This will be the last update you see for a week or so; I'm going vacationing _again_. On Monday, I'm leaving for the beach and am not coming back until that Sunday. I've been firmly informed that there will not be a computer at the beach house, and even if there was one I'm sure mom wouldn't let me use it unless I was conducting research of some kind.

But don't weep, my friends: unless a shark eats me, I'll have a new update up by the middle of next week. Tuesday or Wednesday, most likely.

And now, with what time I have left, I must begin that next chapter. Freedom To Write, awaaaaaay!


	5. Mysidia to Baron

Heehee! Told ya I'd be back! No, a shark didn't eat me; although I did almost saw my finger off with a dremel tool. Kidding again! Daddy almost did that. I'm completely fine!

The beach was great; but I do like it back here (like I said: there was no computer where I went T.T) and so, here I am at the computer once more, pounding a new chapter out of my odd little mind.

By the way, this chapter should be viewed with a tiny amount of discretion this time, as there is a slight adult sort of theme in a bit. Yeah, I know, it's totally out of place for me, but I feel that it was definitely necessary, and therefore well worth it. Adds a little bit of spice, no? Hehehe...

Enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Mysidia to Baron

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The large airship that had taken the party to the underworld and its surrounding towns was now very cramped; what with the additional 103 from Mythril and the seven people from Agart, there wasn't a whole lot of room. And they still had an easy two days of flight ahead of them.

"I wish we had the influence over people that Mom and Daddy have. If we did, I bet there wouldn't be a person left in Agart right now," Angel complained.

"Well, with the tight seating arrangements, I'm glad that you don't," Odin countered.

Angel though about it for a minute and decided that she agreed with him.

"Do we still have to get married?" she asked. "We never really decided if it was a yes or no."

"Everyone at the time said no," Odin pointed out.

"_At the time_," Angel stated. "We never actually talked about it: we all just told each other how we felt at the time."

"Hm... Good point."

"After spending an afternoon with you, I've decided that you're a terrific person. You've got a lot of good ideas, you're a lot more practical than my sister or I, you can be aggravating sometimes, but then most friends are."

"Friend? So fast?"

"Yeah. What else can I call you? 'Casual acquaintance'? 'Random person I barely know'? 'One with whom I have no affiliation whatsoever'?" Angel asked.

"Good point. So, are you saying that you _would_ marry me?" Giott asked.

"If I had to, I suppose so. I like you; but I _don't_ love you," Angel explained. "But I'll definitely work with you and live around you."

"Ditto."

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Palom was sad. Sefi had been avoiding him since they got to Agart. She wouldn't look at him or talk to him or anything.

_I hope she's not mad about that tiff with Luca,_ he thought.

So he decided to ask her about it.

He found her leaning on the railing, taking her break from driving. There was something about the way she looked in the dim light, with her dark purple hair blowing about in the wind, that made her look like some kind of creature that Rydia might summon up. Her dark blue eyes were fixed downwards, gazing at the trees zipping away below her, though not with the fascination and vigor they usually had. The only light nearby was from a small bottle lantern on a hook attached to the rail; with Sefi's pale complexion, the warm red-orange light fell on her skin like paints on a blank canvas, painting her skin like fire against the blackening sky.

_How did I never notice how pretty she is?_ Palom wondered, suddenly nervous.

_Maybe I should forget it. She probably hasn't seen me yet,_ he decided, turning to leave.

"_Still _so anxious to leave?" Sefi asked darkly.

_But, then again, she probably _has_ seen me._

"It's not that," Palom insisted. "I just thought that you might want to be alone. You look sad."

Sefi looked up at him with a rather put out look on her face. The way her face was facing the lantern now, the orange light only touched half of her face, reaching only to the middle of her face and leaving the other half in shadow, barely visible against the dark background.

"What was that with Luca?" she demanded.

Palom didn't know what to say to her. "Um... I figured you might be angry about that," he admitted.

"That's not an answer. What happened."

"Well, it started when I was five, really," Palom explained. "I met Luca at Cecil and Rosa's wedding. She got close enough to talk to me, and she just didn't go away. She hovered around me for the rest of the day. Shoot; you could hardly get her away from me. We all immediately assumed that she had a crush on me (what else could it be, right?). So, we, Giott, Porom, the Elder and I, all decided to leave it be for the time being.

"When I was ten, Luca suddenly showed up in Mysidia, after we hadn't even looked at each other for five years. The girl found her way to the tower, got hold of me, and wouldn't let go again. After that, she started coming to Mysidia at least once every three months.

"It drove me _insane_. I didn't really like her; she was a hopeless romantic. I just wanted her to go away and leave me in peace. For the first time in my life I was using homework as an excuse!"

Sefi seemed to brighten a tad. "You musta been desperate," she commented, slipping into workmen's grammar.

"Yeah, I was," Palom agreed. "When I was 19, just a few months before I met you and Angel, Luca showed up again, right on time, and suggested that we go on a walk together. Well, I figured that I might as well get it out of the way now, so off we went. She was acting stranger than usual that day: talking calmly, normally, about normal things like a normal person."

"What did she usually talk about?" Sefi asked.

"How much she loved me, and all the plans she's conjured up in her head for the two of us after she'd forced me to marry her; things like that. That day, she was talking about the weather, how she wanted to learn white magic, how things downstairs were going... I should have suspected something right away, but I was just so happy that she was being a normal person that I didn't think much about it. When I looked back up again, we were on the outskirts of the city; just a bunch of trees and bushes, some flowers here and there, but noting much around, really. It tended to be a favorable spot for first dates."

"I think I know where this is going," Sefi interrupted. "She got you in a corner where you couldn't run away and tried to---"

"Don't even say it!" Palom stopped her. "Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!"

"Did you get you of it safely?" Sefi asked.

"Thankfully, Porom had followed us. She stopped Luca just in time to save me from a bad fate. Ever after that, Luca has been banned from entering the city."

"So... You never liked her?" Sefi guessed.

"What-No! Never! If anything, I hated her. She was annoying and boring. And then she turned out to be a whore as well. I _never_ wanted to see her again, and certainly never expected to," Palom admitted. "I sort of... forgot about her in the excitement of the airship fight."

Sefi's eyes twinkled in the dim light. She even smiled.

"Well, um, I'm certainly glad you got away from her," she said, erasing her smile. "She sounds like a terrible person."

"I have other people to care about," Palom informed. "I have a sister, a bunch of best friends, and an entire island to run. I don't have time for people like Luca."

"You mean, like, a girlfriend?" Sefi ventured tentatively.

"I mean like trashy whores who get in your way. No good leader takes company with that sort of person," Palom corrected, being uncharacteristically deep.

_Maybe... Hopefully... Nah. Not me,_ Sefi thought sadly.

"Do you want a girlfriend?" Sefi asked.

"Huh. I don't really know. I haven't thought about it in a while," Palom admitted.

"Scared you away from women for a while, eh?"

(nod, nod)

Sefi was about to add more, but Red came around the corner. "Sef, it's your turn at the helm. Come on," she called.

"Damnation!" Sefi muttered. "I was having fun."

"Mind if I, er, tag along?" Palom asked.

Sefi beamed. "Not at all. Let's go."

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Skipping ahead, they had landed back in Mysidia a few days ago. After a quick debriefing from Exeline and Kenji for the new arrivals, everyone began settling into the city which was to become their new headquarters. What with its remote location, large size, water defenses on all sides (and Mount Ordeals to the east), the island was the perfect place to establish their base.

The citizens of the Reef Kingdom, below the island's sea, would even be there to help if there was a naval assault. As soon as they'd gotten back, Sefi, Palom and Porom all went below the surface to ask for their help (remember how they ate the breath-plant? They still retained the ability to breath under water. Pretty neat, eh?)

Conch and Artiria, the dolphin king and queen, were both more than obliged to the request.

"We're still so grateful to you all," the massive king had told them. "We would be honored to help."

"We'll look for ships everyday. If we see one, we'll send Hoop to let you know," Artiria informed, nodding to the captain of the guard nearby. The friendly captain nodded her consent.

With that out of the way, the three had returned to the surface.

Ever since then, there had been nothing to do but wait and prepare for their attack.

The preparing, he could handle, but it was the waiting that had gotten to Cecil. As patient as he tended to be, he was growing restless and edgy. He almost wished that the ninjas would attack again, just so that he could do something again.

A week after they'd arrived back, he began to wonder how his kingdom was faring. While he'd been away, he'd left Kain to evacuate the city and help relocate the citizens to various small towns, therefore keeping them out of harm's way. Though the dragoon had assured him that everyone was safe, Cecil couldn't help but worry anyway.

_I wonder if I should go back,_ he wondered.

That night, as he walked towards Devil's Road to go back to Baron, the paladin had to wonder if he was mentally ill or not.

_This is nuts! I can't go alone. But I can't tell anyone that I'm going, or they won't _let_ me go,_ he thought.

"And just where do you think you're going?" a familiar voice asked from the shadows. Cecil turned to look and found that the voice belonged to Rydia, who was standing in the shade of a tree. "I noticed that you were taking the way that leads to Devil's Road," she pointed out, shaking her green hair out of her face to see him better.

"Not this time, Rydi," Cecil said as firmly as he could. "This time, I'm going alone."

"And how do you think you'll manage that?" inquired another voice, which the king immediately identified as Rosa's. She materialized beside him and said, "You know that the Devil's Road is dangerous; it too risky to use it on your own."

"Which is why we got together a group to come with you back to Baron," Rydia added.

"You did _what_," Cecil demanded.

_As much as I love them, it really bugs me when they do these things to me_, he thought ruefully, replaying in his head the many times that Rosa and Rydia had suckered him into letting them tag along.

_I should say no; I should just say no this time._

That idea evaporated like water on a griddle when he sensed that his daughters were approaching as well.

"Yes, Daddy, we're coming too," Angel said, reading her father's mind.

"And don't even think about telling us to stay here, 'cause we won't listen," Sefi added stoutly.

"Who else is coming?" Cecil asked his wife.

"They're already waiting at the entrance to Devil's road," Rosa informed.

_They can read me like a book..._ Cecil thought with a sigh.

"Lead the way," he told his companions, falling in line behind them and feeling very silly.

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The other people that Rosa and Rydia had assembled were, as they said, waiting at the entrance to the Devil's Road. The company included Exeline and Kenji, the Fabulian and Damcyani royalty, and Palom and Porom. From they way they were all fidgeting and pacing, it was clear that they'd all been waiting a while. Cecil also noticed with a certain amount of surprise that Edge and Aron weren't there, even though Rydia was clearly coming along.

Apparently, Rydia hadn't expected this either because she had to ask where they'd gone.

"They went inside," Exeline offered, pointing to the door that led to the road. "Edge said that he would go scout ahead and Aron went with him."

Rydia made a sort of exasperated growling noise in her throat and ran her fingers stiffly through her hair. "If he's taken my son beyond the first chamber, I'm going to strangle him," she muttered.

"If it helps, he said that he wouldn't go any farther than that," Kenji informed.

Rydia seemed to calm down a bit, but she marched through the crowd and through the door.

Edge and Aron were still in the first chamber: Rydia started yelling at someone and the someone began yelling back.

"She's always been like that," Yang mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "If I'm correct, she argues with the ones she loves best as a sign of affection."

"We know," several people answered.

"Not a very agreeable person," Kaelery stated.

"Very agreeable," Edward corrected, moving toward the door. "Just very short tempered, as well as brave and powerful."

"Like them," Red added, pointing to Angel and Sefi, "If you get to know them you'll find that they're really very nice if not unruly and wild."

"Well, if you replaced 'nice' with 'obnoxious', then I could see what you mean."

Everyone stared at Kaelery menacingly for that statement.

"Well, forgive us for liking them _any_way, your highness," Palom retorted.

"Why do you always have to be so darned mean to them?" Porom demanded, practically finishing her brother's dialogue (though she used much softer language than her brother was going to).

"Let's just try to get back to Baron without starting a fight, please," Cecil requested, quelling the impending fight.

"They're still a couple of brats," Kaelery muttered, just loud enough for Angel and Sefi to hear.

"Alright, _that's_ it," Angel said angrily, drawing her sword from its sheath. "If you want trouble, I've got it right here, waiting for you."

Kaelery whipped out her short sword. "Don't mess with me, little girl; you can't out fight me."

"No one is fighting anyone!" Cecil shouted, separating his daughter from the older princess. He turned to Kaelery and warned, "If you don't stop harassing my daughters—"

"I'll deal with her," Yang informed. "I'll just take away all of her skin ointments and make her stand in the sun for an hour or two every day for a month."

"What? You wouldn't!" Kaelery practically screamed.

"Your vanity betrays you; I would indeed," Yang scolded. Kaelery returned her short sword to its scabord and she backed away without another word, with everyone's accusing eyes on her (Edge and Rydia had even come back out to see what the heck was going on).

"And as for _you_," Cecil said, turning back to Angel, "If you draw your sword on anyone again, I'll take it away, do you understand me?"

"Yessir," Angel said sulkily, also re-sheathing her sword.

"That sword is for defending you life, not your pride. We _do not_ attack people because they insulted us; being a paladin, I expected you'd know that."

Angel wanted to melt and drip through the stones in the road. She absolutely hated to be scolded by her dad. Not having his approval was like not having a family at all to her. Especially since she had only earned his constant attention as recently as three years ago.

No, it wasn't that Cecil had been a bad or neglectful father until then, it was just that there was no need to constantly be around her, teaching her how to be a paladin or anything like that. But Angel was a strong, bright girl who had always been able to take care of herself. Before she'd gone to Mount Ordeals and become a paladin, he never had to worry about her like he did now. Anyways, Cecil had been a king with a lot of stuff to do; he couldn't help it if he wasn't there when she felt like he should have been.

And, at any rate, Angel had never bothered to tell her father that it was bothering her in the first place.

"Let's just go already," Edge called from the door. "It's a long road, and we need to get going. We'll discuss this on the way to Baron."

No one really said anything; they just hurried to the door as fast as they could.

The first chamber was just a small stone room with a trap door in the floor at the center of it. When opened, the trap door revealed a staircase leading far below the floor and into the maze-like road that connected Mysidia to Baron: The Devil's Road.

Rydia, Palom and Red all moved to the front of the group and started down the staircase, Red and Palom holding large tongues of flame in their palms and Rydia carrying a freshly lit torch (she could hold fire in her hand as well but she preferred not to, and we all know why).

"Come on, everyone," Rydia called. "I found the right path to take."

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Hello, everyone. I'm quite happy: I've finished and posted this chapter a whole day sooner than I expected I would, and can begin the next chapter before schedule! I'm so proud of myself!

The beach trip was probably the last vacation I'm taking this summer, leaving the next month or so for me to write. Don't think that I'm not aware that I've spent a good deal of summer vacation away from the computer already; most likely, I won't stop apologizing for all the time I've missed for the next few months. I won't get grounded so much anymore (I hope) or go on long vacations anymore (I think), I promise.

And off I go once more; a quick sequence in the underground road, and then we're Baron bound. Gotta go.

Luvyas lots! Keep reading!


	6. The Bahamuts

No news today. Just read the chapter.

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Chapter 5: The Bahamuts

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The large party spent most of that night wandering through the dark and damp underground road, fighting several small monsters and grappling with the many strange dimensions that teleported them across an unknown part of the world. They were definitely not in the underworld, but certainly not in the overworld: it was a sort of in-between place that few could travel.

For most of the adults in the party, navigating the tunnels and passages of this godforsaken place wasn't all that difficult; they had spent months traveling back and forth through this maze during Zeromus' siege on the overworld and knew them fairly well. The kids (and Exeline and Kenji) found themselves following.

At last, after hours of walking, there was another staircase with a door at the top. Rydia, being the leader (she had the torch, and Palom and Red had run out of MP to fuel there fire long ago), raced to the steps and climbed them as fast as she could. The newcomers expected the door to be locked, but the door swung right open for the summoner, letting a ray of early morning light stream though to the floor.

"Here's our stop," Rydia called to everyone. "Let's get to the castle."

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Devil's Road was conveniently located near the castle. A brisk walk brought them all to the front gate, whose bars had been wrenched apart; half of it had been ripped off the hinges and was left lying on the ground about seven yards away.

"What on earth happened?" Kenji wondered out loud when he saw the mess.

"Someone's apparently decided to take up residence here while there are no people to stop them. With the king and his family at their secret base and the citizens scattered throughout the small towns around the area, there's not much to stop monsters from entering," Cecil explained, carefully searching for a telltale vibe.

"Whatever is here, it seems to be fairly harmless to us. Some goblins seem to be the worst of it," the king announced. "We shouldn't have any trouble taking back the castle."

The rest of the party agreed with him. They'd all faced worse things than goblins; how hard could it be?

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Well, it turned out to be a bit harder than they thought. Several local goblin clans had decided to band together to take the castle and keep it from anyone who might try to take it away again. Therefore, there was always a goblin or two waiting around every corner for the fanned out adventurers.

Fortunately, goblins aren't very bright or brave. One of the big goblin leaders attacked Palom at one point, but a lighting flash had rendered it incinerated (yum!). The other goblins ran away, alerting the others that their leader had been felled and that it was no use trying to hide from mages.

_Maybe they _are_ clever after all, _Palom thought.

Thanks to the well placed lighting spell, most of the goblins had cleared out in two hours. Thusly, the party was now able to wander the castle unharmed.

A little later that day, Angel found her way to the kitchen. The place was as much a mess as the rest of the castle: pots and pans littered the floor, making walking difficult. Plus there was no food left; the goblins ha left only ores and seeds and a few stale bread crusts lying about.

_I hate goblins,_ Angel thought furiously.

A sudden vibe came to her, depicting five goblins hiding on a shelf above her, concealed by a few things that hadn't been knocked to the floor. As soon as she awake from her stupor she drew her sword and fixed her attention on the shelf, which was about six feet above her head. The goblins had no idea that she was ready for them because they jumped right out, surprised that she had a drawn sword in her hand.

Four of the goblins leapt from the shelf and raced toward Angel with raised knives and short swords bared; the fifth decided that he didn't want to fight an armed human three times his size and caught his balance before he fell. With that he ducked back behind his bunker of pots and pans.

Angel quickly felled the four stupidly brave goblins, losing thought of the fifth for a moment. She only remembered him when there was a scratching sort of sound from the shelf and she saw all the pots and pans moving closer and closer to the edge of the shelf. The goblin gave up on moving al the heavy equipment and began throwing them at Angel instead.

The paladin dodged the thrown objects with grace, until the goblin hit her in the head while she was distracted. Angel saw stars going around her head, and thought that she might faint from the heavy blow. So she never saw the goblin whip out a dagger and aim it in her direction.

As the dagger left the monster's gnarled, deformed hand, a blur of black and white pushed Angel out of the way. The dagger wound up in the wall, and Angel and her rescuer landed seven feet away from it.

Considering that she'd landed with a hard thump against more pans, the stars cleared from her vision and looked to see just who had pushed her out of the way. Surprise surprise, it was Odin.

The goblin snarled with rage and whipped out another dagger. Odin coolly took out a dagger of his own and threw it deftly at his attacker. It caught the goblin completely off guard and the dagger landed in the monster's head. The thing slumped over and fell over off the shelf, taking some pots down with it.

Odin stood up and offered a hand to Angel, who was still lying amid pans on the floor and dazed from all the action. Angel accepted his hand and found herself back on her feet with one strong tug.

"You shouldn't have done that," she told her friend.

"Why not?" Odin asked. "That goblin would have killed you if you hadn't moved. And you clearly weren't going to move on your own."

Angel put her hand on Odin's shoulder, still feeling dizzy from the lump on her head. "I can take care of myself, okay?" She informed, but suddenly pitched forward violently. Odin caught her and stood her upright once more.

"Yes, I can see that you can," he said with mocking reassurance. "Let's go find someone to fix you up. You don't look too good."

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The rest of the day was pretty quiet, if not busy. There was a lot of cleaning to be done, and many important items, such as the keys to the airship hanger had been lost. Once most of the rooms on the throne room floor had been reorganized, the keys had been recovered, but nothing else.

Later that night, Rosa got a funny feeling, like the pins-and-needles feeling one gets when one's foot goes to sleep only all over her body. She began searching for a vibe that could tell her more about this odd feeling, but couldn't find much.

As it turned out, every other white mage in the party felt the same way. They'd all tried to find an answer on their own, but couldn't find any answers. So they all teamed up and vibe-hunted together.

After an hour or two at this, none of them had any more answers than they'd started out with. And Alara had noticed that Angel wasn't looking so good. Her skin was very pale and she had broken out in a clammy sweat a while ago. The last time anyone asked her how she felt, Angel insisted that she was fine and that she could keep helping. At that, they decided to let her keep going for a while longer. After 30 minutes, Alara was the first to check on her, and she was really very worried about the girl.

"I think you should take a break," Alara advised. "That hit you took earlier did a lot of damage and you haven't rested at all. Maybe you should just get some sleep."

"No. I'm fine," Angel insisted.

"Angel..." Rosa started.

"Just five minutes more, at least. I'm really alright."

"We're not so ready to believe that," Cecil informed. He rose from his spot and came over to Angel. He picked up Angel in his arms, with surprisingly little resistance from her, and said to her, "You've done enough. And Alara's right: you need to sleep. It'll help you get better."

"I thought mom's cure spell would do that," Angel mumbled into her father's shoulder.

"A cure spell can't give you energy. You know that," Cecil reminded her, slightly astonished that he could understand Angel's unintelligible mumbling.

If Angel had any more to say about it, she was probably too tired to say it. As it was, Angel was falling asleep in his arms; Cecil could feel it. Angel was exhausted: between the painful lump on her head and all the cleaning she'd done, she needed a glass of water and a long nap more than anything.

He carried Angel to the wall closest to the meditating white mages and set her down. She didn't even respond to the action; she was sleeping like she was dead.

"Odin," Cecil called. Odin ran as quickly as he could from the other side of the room to the king's side.

"Yes?"

"Look after her for a while. If she wakes up don't let her go anywhere," Cecil directed, going back to the circle.

_Why _me_, exactly?_ Odin wondered.

He didn't spend too much time wondering. Instead he sat down beside Angel, leaning his back against the wall. The stone was cold, and it sent a shiver down his spine. As a Fabulian, cold wasn't exactly something he was use to.

Odin gazed across the room. Nearby, the mages were still sitting together, searching for their vibes. On the other side of the room, only four other people still remained in the throne room: Sefi, Palom, Exeline and Kenji. Everyone else had left a long time ago, most to either eat or sleep. Why exactly these four and himself decided to stay, he wasn't exactly sure; say for Palom and Sefi, who both had siblings participating in the meditation circle.

Odin wasn't a white mage or a paladin, but his highly attuned senses and powers of quick reasoning picked out signs of tenseness and fear from the two ninjas.

_They're afraid of something,_ he thought. _Could they be afraid of another Doom Ninja attack? Or of Red Bahamut's wrath when he finds out that they were double agents? Something's got them vexed; but what is it?_

"Is she okay?" asked Sefi, who had materialized beside him wile he was thinking.

"Hm? Wha? Oh, I think she's just tired," Odin answered, coming from his cloud of thought.

"Do you need anything?" Sefi asked.

"Not right now. She's asleep so deep she'd may as well be a rock."

"Ah. Actually, I meant _you_. Need anything to eat or drink or something?"

"No thanks."

Sefi was silent for a moment. She sat back on her heels and surveyed Odin for a few seconds and nodded her head as if she'd come to a decision. "You're an okay guy, you know," she said. "As bad as we were when your sister said that she wanted you to marry Angel, I'm sure that you wouldn't be a half bad husband for her. She doesn't really have a lot of that common sense half that most people do, get it?"

"I'm glad you've changed your opinion of me," said Odin.

"Take care of my twin and you'll keep it," Sefi warned. Then she got back up and walked away.

Odin looked over at Angel, sleeping beside him. She seemed so sweet and innocent this way; so at peace for once. He'd never seen her in this state before. Usually, she was all swords and boldness and ready to cut down anything that stood in her path.

_She suddenly seems so juvenile,_ he thought._ It makes one remember those days when someone takes care of you for you and you never have to worry about anything. Back before you start worrying about taking care of anything yourself, whether it's yourself or your kingdom._

_Or a family of your own._

His thoughts were interrupted again when Angel pitched to the side again. Her head fell against his shoulder with enough force to push him a bit. Through it all, she never showed any sign of waking.

_So sweet in sleeping, but so bold in waking... Just the kind of person I've always hoped for in a bride. Could this actually be the start of something?_

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It was well past one 'o'clock in the morning when the white mages caught their first real vibes. The vibes in question were very strong; an indication that the cause wasn't too far away. Whatever it was was still difficult to see in the vision they all received, meaning that it carried some kind of cloaking magic which rendered it as no more than a dark shadow against a dark night sky. However, it was clear that the thing, whatever it was, had wings, claws and horns on its massive head.

A dragon.

The four mages in the circle bolted out of their clouded meditation and jumped to their feet to rally the others in the castle. Angel was still fast asleep and Odin was dozing beside her. On the other side of the room, Palom and Sefi were also sleeping against the wall and the ninjas were still wide awake, whispering nervously about something. Other than them, the room was empty.

When she saw the mages get up, Exeline asked, "What's going on? Did you guys find something?"

"There's something coming this way. Fast," Porom informed, going to wake her brother.

"It appeared to be a dragon of some kind," Alara added.

"Why would a dragon be coming this way?" Kenji asked nervously.

"How should we know?" Porom asked, tactlessly kicking her twin sharply in the shin. Palom shrieked and jumped to his feet, waking Sefi in the process. The noise also woke Odin and even caused Angel to stir.

"What was _that_ for?!" Palom demanded of his sister.

"What's going on?" Sefi asked, still dazed from her sudden awakening.

"There's a monster coming this way," Cecil informed her as he offered her a hand. Sefi accepted it, though she was still a little dizzy and disoriented.

Hearing this, Odin decided that it was time to rouse Angel from her deep slumber. She opened her eyes ever so slightly after he had shaken her gently for a minute, though she didn't look too happy with him.

"What?" she asked irritability.

"There's a dragon coming," Odin told her.

Angel's eyes flew open and she tried to stand up. Though she looked much better than she had earlier, she keeled over from sitting on the cold floor for too long. Once more, she let Odin pull her to her feet, and she went to join her parents and find out more about said dragon.

"So, what all this I hear about a dragon?" she asked matter-of-factly once she was there.

Cecil and Rosa looked down at her, slightly surprised at her sudden appearance.

"Well that was fast," Rosa remarked. "But, to answer your question, we all saw a dragon flying this way."

"Not too far off either; the vibe we caught was very strong," Porom added, casting a quick heal spell Palom for the bruise on his shin.

"Will everyone get here to fight it in time?" Sefi asked.

"If we hurry, maybe," Exeline said, strapping her cat-claws into fighting position. "Let's go."

Just as they were all walking out the door, something exploded behind them, sending rubble and pebbles flying at them. Grimly, they all turned back to see what it was:

The back wall of the throne room now had a huge hole in the middle of it, it's mass of stones in a heap on the floor behind a screen on dust. And in that space stood a terrible red dragon, ready to attack.

"...Stop!" Palom cried, throwing his hands up at the dragon. A gray-green flash flew from his hands and struck the dragon in the head, spreading over its massive body like water. The dragon roared ferociously, slowed only a tiny amount by the spell.

The noise had, fortunately, summoned all the others to the room to see what had happened.

Edge was, naturally the first to arrive. He burst into the room, his attention fixed on his friends. He skidded to a halt beside Cecil and asked, "Hey! What's happening?

No answer from the paladin, slowly reaching for his sword.

"Hello! What going—whoa! What is that thing!" the ninja king demanded when he noticed the dragon.

"It's a _DRAGON_, you moron! What does it look like?" Palom retorted, starting the chant for a heavy ice spell.

While all of this was going on, Angel and Sefi had backed away to the door so that it wouldn't see them summoning their Lunarian relatives.

_Um, Uncle Golbez, we need you again,_ Angel called in her mind.

_What's up? _Golbez's voice answered cheerfully.

_There's a big red dragon in the throne room,_ Angel informed him grimly.

_A _what_!? What are you dong down there?_

_Nothing! We don't know why it came here: just help us do something about it!_

_Like what?_

_I don't know. It's a _dragon_; use your imagination!_

_Fine. You don't have to snap at me._

Golbez cut off his connection and reappeared before the group in a matter of moments in a form that only Angel, Sefi, and anyone else who could summon spirits had the privilege of seeing. A second later, FuSoYa appeared beside him in his own ghostly form.

Not surprisingly, Palom and Porom's mom and Tellah appeared as well.

Everyone who wasn't already there came through the door at that moment; all except for Rydia, who was nowhere to be seen. Red noticed the dragon and shuddered, but then saw the spirits and began contacting her own spirit with a wink to her friends.

Palom released the most powerful ice spell that he knew, but it deflected off the dragon's tough scales. The dragon made a sort of nasally growling sound and cast his menacing gaze in Palom's direction.

"You're spells won't work on _me_, little mage," it growled.

Palom froze, chilled by the dragon's hard voice pounding in his ears.

The dragon made the nasally growling sound again, his version of laughter. "And now I shall crush you and take the paladins away with me," he continued, still staring menacingly at Palom.

_What? He's here for Daddy and me?_ Angel thought, more alarmed than before.

The dragon stomped toward the group, forcing them all against the wall, and still intent on Palom. He raised his huge red claw over the black mage and prepared to slam it down, not taking notice that Palom wasn't very nervous.

But he quickly found out why the mage wasn't nervous. As he brought down his claw, something sharp sliced into it, leaving a huge painful gash. The dragon roared in pain and recoiled, clutching his wounded claw in his good one, watching helplessly as blood gushed out of it. Then things began attacking him all over the place, leaving slashes, cuts and scorches all over his body. But try as he might, he couldn't find what was attacking him.

And for that matter, few other people could either. But the ones who could relished the sight of their spirit friends and relatives distracting the dragon.

Rydia came through the doors at last, still in the stupor of a summon. The words she was whispering were new; the girls had never seen her summon this monster, what ever it was. Meaning that it was a powerful one.

At last she finished chanting and called out the name of her summon.

"Bahamut! Come to me!" Rydia yelled. The room shook with her voice, like the echo of a big bell. Then everything went still.

But then a strong wind blew in the opening in the wall. It condensed into a figure not unlike the dragon they faced. It was, in fact, like a smaller, blue version of the big red monster.

"Behold Bahamut, King of Dragons," Rydia introduced her summon.

Bahamut let out an intimidating roar and grinned slyly at Rydia. He turned around to see what it was he'd been summoned to face and then froze. It seemed almost as if he'd gasped in surprise and shock.

"Obsidian!" the blue dragon gasped.

"Akstaron," the red dragon, Obsidian, replied coolly. "I should have known you'd wheedle your way into this: you always do."

The dragon king, Akstaron to those who knew him best, tentatively held his ground against the larger dragon. "What do you want here?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing much," Obsidian answered demurely, raising a claw and inspecting his talons with false interest. "In fact, it's so small that no one will really miss it."

"So what is it?" Akstaron asked nervously.

"I want _them_," Obsidian said menacingly, pointing at Cecil and Angel.

"What? Why?" Akstaron demanded.

"You don't need to know," Obsidian snarled. Without another word, he opened his mouth and cast mega-flare on the king. So great was the intensity from the big monster that Akstaron was knocked to the floor with that one hit. Obsidian advanced on the group of humans, smacking Akstaron's limp body out his wake. He stopped short of actually stepping on the people and stared down at his targets.

"Now that _that's_ out of the way, I'll be taking you along with me," Obsidian told the paladins with a terrifying grin. "Put up any more resistance and you'll watch your friends die before we go."

"Wait!" Someone in the crowd called out. Everyone turned to see who had spoken and saw that it was Kenji.

Obsidian snorted. "What do you want, small person? I've got business to attend to!" he snarled.

"Take me in their place," Kenji demanded the dragon.

(gasp from everyone)

Exeline took Kenji by the shoulders and shook him sharply. "Kenjiki, what are you doing?" she practically screamed. "If he takes you away, he will probably _kill_ you!"

"I know. But he can't get Cecil and Angel; otherwise we'll all be in trouble. They're leaders; I'm just a ninja from the middle of nowhere," Kenji explained.

At any rate, Obsidian snarled with laughter at Kenji's proposal. "You must be joking!" he said between laughs. "A ninja doesn't make up for _one_ paladin, let alone two."

Kaelery shouldered her way to the front and stared the dragon dead in the eyes. "How about a ninja and a princess?" she asked.

(another gasp from everyone)

"What are _you_ doing?!" Yang demanded as he ran to his daughter. "Are you insane?"

"Look," Kaelery said calmly, "I know that Angel and I don't like each other, but if she dies all is lost. A princess for a princess sounds like a fair trade to me."

To everyone's surprise and alarm, Obsidian seemed to be considering the deal, rubbing his scaly red chin thoughtfully and making a low rumbling sound in his throat. He examined Kenji and Kaelery carefully, trying to figure out whether accepting their proposal was a good idea or not.

_If I don't just take the paladins right now, it could cause bumps down the road. Imagine all the damage they could do if I make the swap!_ Obsidian thought, quickly factoring in the possible trouble his targets might cause if he didn't deal with them here and now.

_On the other hand, by taking their friends and killing them in their place, it could leave them regretful and grief stricken enough to keep them at ease for a while. Knowing that there isn't anything you can do for a good friend is always something that wounds a paladin the most. I'll get to kill two innocents, proving to the world how ruthless I will be with them and instilling much fear in the humans, and I can still come back to deal with the paladins before they cause trouble. Four for the price of two, an exercise and demonstration for all to see... I don't see a downside to this. _

_How could I afford to pass this up?_

Obsidian grinned evilly at Kenji and Kaelery, his mind made up at last.

"Alright, fine. The two of you in their place: I'll do that," he told them. "Being in such a good mood from this transaction, I'll give you two idiots five minutes to get yourselves together. I'll be over there," he said, pointing at Akstaron, who was just waking up.

As he walked away, Exeline exploded from the crowd and hugged Kenji as tightly as she could. "How could you do this?" she demanded. "You didn't have to throw your life away like this."

"Who else can we afford to lose?" Kenji asked.

"Me," Exeline answered.

"No! Don't do anything to yourself, please!"

"But _you_ are."

"I'm dying for a cause. Don't kill yourself over heartbreak; promise me that you won't."

Exeline regarded Kenji angrily, hot tears still burning her eyes.

"Go on living and have a long life: let that be my dying wish for you," Kenji requested, looking Exeline back in the eye. "I mean it."

"We were supposed to do that _together_," Exeline pointed out, displaying the sapphire-on-silver engagement ring on her left hand.

"I know, I know. And don't think for a second that it slipped my mind at any point."

"So _why_ are you letting this dragon take you away to kill you?"

"So that _you_ can live on, even if I can't," Kenji explained.

Meanwhile, Yang and Odin were saying their goodbyes; solemn, down-to-the-point, serious Fabulian style.

"I still don't understand why you would do this," Odin remarked.

"Why I wouldn't do what?" Kaelery asked.

Angel appeared beside her and answered, "Why you would sacrifice yourself for me. _Me._ We hate each other. So why would you die to save me?"

"Because," Kaelery explained, "I realize that I was rotten to you. I've called you names, insulted you, tried to beat you down, and even drawn a blade on you. I suddenly realized that I was being really self-centered and, well... a bit overly protective of my brother. I was expecting him to be engaged to a quiet obedient person, not you.

"It's stupid, I know, but I've been punishing you all this time for being something that I thought was bad for him. I should have stopped a long time ago, but I didn't. I shouldn't have blamed you for being what you are; you can't change that. I can't reasonably expect you to accept my apology; and even if you will (since that would be very nice), I feel that the very least I can do to make it up to you is to save your life."

Angel was extremely moved by Kaelery's speech. "You aren't just saying that to trick me, are you?"

"I mean every word of it from the bottom of my heart. I feel horrible about the way I've treated you."

Angel nodded understandingly. "I accept your apology. I feel pretty bad too. I wish I had more time to make it all up to you."

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Obsidian stood towering over Akstaron, gazing at his limp body with a grim sort of satisfaction. He hadn't felt so good in many hundred years.

Akstaron stirred and opened his eyes ever so slightly. He attempted to push himself back up but collapsed on the ground once more. Obsidian snickered evilly and lowered his head beside the smaller dragon's ear.

"I hope you realize that I'm really rather pleased with what has transpired tonight," he whispered. "Thanks to all that has played out over just the past 15 minutes, I'll be greater and stronger than you ever could have hoped to be."

Akstaron growled. "They'll never let you get away with this," he struggled. "They'll find you and they'll stop you. They've never lost before," he warned.

"Oh; just like how they found me and stopped me when I killed Gems?" Obsidian asked mockingly.

Akstaron's ruby eyes suddenly turned glassy with burning hot tears. He tried to say something but only a faint moan of grief and fatigue came from his mouth.

"You've just got to accept it, little brother," Obsidian said when Akstaron remained silent, but for a slight sob, "I was _always_ better suited to rule than you: granddam just liked you better."

"She chose me because I wasn't evil or dead like you or Gems," Akstaron retorted. "You tried to kill everyone else to ensure your place as king."

"And I would have succeeded if mother hadn't hidden you so well. I would have killed you, along with every other friend, cousin and any other distant relative in the running for Lord of the Summons. _I_ deserved that title: _I'm_ the oldest,_ I'm_ the strongest, _and I'm the best._"

"As long as we all have something to say about it, your reign will fall as soon as you started it."

"We'll see about that," Obsidian hissed. "You couldn't save Gems, and you _won't_ save anyone else."

Obsidian stormed away from Akstaron and back to the crowd.

"It's time to go," he snarled. He spoke one single word in a strange language that no one knew and he began to fade away slowly.

With a bolt of horror, Exeline noticed that Kenji was also fading away like a ghost.

"No, wait! It can't have been five minutes already," she shrieked, trying to grab Kenji's hand and getting nothing but a handful of air.

Kenji's fading form looked over to Kaelery, who was fading as well.

"I uses we're going," her form said nervously to her partner-in-martyrdom.

"I guess so," Kenji answered. He turned back to Exeline and said once more, "Don't do anything to yourself: promise me."

"Fine I promise," Exeline answered reluctantly.

Kenji reached out his hand to touch Exeline's face; all that she felt was a gentle stir of air against her jaw.

"I love you," he said softly as the last of his form vanished.

"I love you too," Exeline answered, though he was no longer there to hear her.

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...Wow. Nearly six hours of labor to turn out this chapter. All extremely worth it in the end.

Up towards the end, this chapter was probably the most fun that I've ever written in my year-and-a-half on the site. When I was writing Final Fantasy Four-and-a-Half, I thought the sharks were the most fun villains that I've ever come up with; boy was I wrong!

As you probably deduced from the dialogue, Obsidian is the Bahamut's evil older brother and Bahamut's real name (here, anyway,) is Akstaron. They also had a little sister, but you'll find out more about her next chapter. By now, you may have already guessed who it is...

So, here I go marching, rattley-bang, to write the next chapter and answer all of your questions. Bye-bye!


	7. Akstaron Explains All

Once again, I'm going back to school soon. And I'm also trying to put aside a bit of time to write something new: Final Fantasy Four Outtakes! My brother and I came up with it at the beach a few weeks ago, and I'd really like to take a break form this fic to write that. Just so you all know.

But anyways, back to sad scene I left you with last time.

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Chapter 6: Akstaron Explains All

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Exeline suddenly made up her mind to do something absolutely insane.

_I'm going to find you,_ she thought, praying that her fiancé could somehow hear her thoughts. _I won't abandon you to death while I yet breathe._

_And I'm sure that the Bahamut can tell me where to find you._

With a few quick heal spells from various people, Akstaron was up on his feet. Though he was a bit shaky and still weak, he seemed eager to go on his way.

"Wait!" Sefi called before he could reach the gap in the walls. "What just happened here? Why did that dragon suddenly appear, wanting to kidnap my father and sister, and leave with Kenji and Kaelery instead?"

Akstaron sighed tiredly and turned to face his rather distraught audience. "I suppose that you all _do_ deserve an explanation for what my brother has done to you," he said.

"_Brother?_" Rydia demanded, coming out of the crowd and staring her summon in the face. "No one ever told me that you had a brother! Let alone an evil one."

"There is still much that you don't know about us," Akstaron calmly informed his mistress. "I have an extensive family; most of which you will never have to meet."

"So why _him_?" Rydia asked, flabbergasted with one of her summoned monsters, yet again.

"Why ask me?" the dragon questioned. Rydia pouted, but didn't say anything more.

Exeline shouldered her way back to the front line and asked, "Where has he gone? Where has he taken them?"

Akstaron regarded Exeline with much astonishment. "You want to go after those he has taken, do you?"

Exeline nodded eagerly. "Tell me where he's gone, please," she begged.

"Let me tell you the whole story," Akstaron said with a heavy sigh. He sat down gingerly on his still bruised side, curling his long tail about his hind legs and forming a crescent shape with his body. Everyone gathered around him.

"You see," Akstaron began, "a long time ago, my father, Ember-Tooth, was the Lord of Summons; and he was a good king. But when Zeromus found his power, my father stood up to him and paid dearly for it. Zeromus kill him for his troubles; but it's many thanks to him that the Lunarians sealed the villain away for so long.

"But the summons now found themselves with no supreme leader, and began to look for one. They chose my grandmother, Minada, the Lunar Bahamut, to pick the next Lord of Summons out of our big family. So she began to look for likely candidates among the youngsters: strong, brave, confident, good young ones who could follow in my father's footsteps.

"Obsidian was absolutely determined to win and fill the empty position; not for the people that he would rule, not to make their lives better, but to do whatever _he_ wanted to do without having to listen to someone saying no. He longed for power, and was willing to do whatever it took to get there."

Angel raised her hand to ask a question and brought it back down when Akstaron acknowledged her. "So he was always evil?" was her question.

Akstaron sighed. "I'm afraid so," he answered. "He was the oldest of our nest: there was him, then me, and then our sister, Gems."

"So how did he plan on securing his winning your father's place?" Palom asked.

"Well, he decided to start by beating up on anyone else that Minada considered, forcing them out of the running on pain of, er, pain."

"Did it work?" asked Red.

"It did at first. But then Gems got angry with him and stood up to him when he started hurting the very small members of the contest. She was always a feisty little critter, Gems," Akstaron remembered in a vague, floaty voice. "She would stand up to any bully, even if they were five times her size and hundreds of years older than she. She never stopped hating Obsidian for the way he was treating us. Eventually, she rallied everyone that he hadn't already kicked out together and we made a great stand against him. He didn't bother any for a while after that. Such spirit, such heart, such courage... She would have made a fine replacement."

"Akstaron," Rydia asked tentatively, "did something happen to Gems?"

The blue dragon turned his head away and sighed again. Whatever the answer was, he obviously didn't want to say it.

With a stab of sympathy for her dear friend, Rydia suddenly understood why Akstaron was so upset. She came over to stand close beside him and stroked his long, graceful neck comfortingly, wishing that she could have seen sooner.

"Obsidian killed her, didn't he," she guessed.

Akstaron rumbled and turned his head back around to look down at his green haired master. Still silent, he nodded his head slowly, letting a tear fall from his face. It hit the ground and shattered as if it were solid.

"I'm sorry," he said, rubbing away any other tears that threatened to come. "The tears of the bahamuts turn to crystal. Now where was I?"

"Right after Gems led her protest against Obsidian," Rydia reminded him.

"Oh; that's right. Well, after he... After it happened, only the bravest of us stayed in the running, afraid of what Obsidian would do to us next. With Gems, our fearless leader gone, and Obsidian ready to pull a stunt just as bad or worse on those who remained, a lot of us decided to quit while they were ahead."

"But he _killed_ you sister! He killed _his own_ sister! Didn't anyone do anything about that?" Porom asked disbelievingly.

"We, the contestants, all knew that it was him. But when we told Minada about it, he acted like he was shattered by her death and called us jealous liars. Minada said that we were so grief stricken that we were imagining things and sent us away without another sound. For all that anyone knew, she had been attacked by a monster of some kind; and no one would believe us when we said that it was Obsidian who did it."

"So you stayed in the running?" Cecil asked.

"I couldn't let him have even a slight of a chance at my father's throne: not after he'd fallen back on murder to get what he wanted. A few others and I all remained to challenge him. And then, a few months later, one of us, my cousin Blade-Wing, vanished without a trace. Actually, everyone else suddenly started to disappear and no one could find where they went.

"My mother got worried and wanted to hide Obsidian and I away from whatever was causing the disappearances. But he was bigger and more independent than I at the time, so she just took me away. She never even told Obsidian what she had done; she just hid me in the caves and he thought that I'd run away.

"After a few years had passed and no one was left but him, Minada had no choice but to elect Obsidian as the new Lord of Summons. She didn't want to do it, but there was nothing else she could do. But I finally made a reappearance and she chose me instead."

"I bet that he didn't really like that," Yang mused.

"No, he didn't. He stayed on the moon with everyone else, but he treated both Minada and me with great hostility. You see, we both wanted revenge on each other now: on him for killing my sister, and on me for stealing the throne that was going to go to him after he had worked so hard to annihilate the competition.

"He was finally banished to the Blue Planet after he attacked me a few months after I was coronated. That was all about a thousand years ago. I warned Minada not to banish him: he'd just gather his strength and try to take over this world."

"Guess you'll be rubbing that in Minada's face for a while," Edge suggested.

"I should do that," Akstaron agreed, "But right now, I have to go and find some way to stop him." He slowly rose to his feet, ready to leave once more.

"I know that paladins are a rare order," Cecil stated, "but there are more than just Angel and I running around. If we all band together—

"You _are_ the only paladins left," Akstaron informed.

"Uh... Come again?" Cecil asked.

"Obsidian has been going around killing off the handful of paladins on this planet. If there were enough of them together, their holy powers would surely topple him. That is why he wanted to take you: you are the last two paladins left in the world."

Faces fell all across the room.

"Hey!" Exeline stopped him. "If he was banished here, where did he go?"

"I don't think I'm going to tell you. You'll get yourself hurt or worse if you try to save your friends. They've done us a great service this night; just accept it and move along with your life," Akstaron advised.

"But, if you must know, think about it for a minute: if you were a banished villain, and wanted to gather your strength before launching a campaign for world conquest, where would you go?" he hinted.

"By the way, I would get back to your base if I were you. Baron would be a wonderful stage for a battle, but your people all need you. You'll have to come back with an army to keep it safe anyway. All of you get as much sleep as you can and go back to Mysidia in the morning."

"How'd you know about the base?" Palom asked.

"Rydia told me. How else?" Akstaron answered, leaping through the wall and flying into the black night.

22222222222

Angel was woken again by someone gently shaking her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes to a blob of purple and gray.

"What are you doing, Sefi It's not even dawn yet," Angel complained, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"We figured out the only place in the overworld where Obsidian could be hiding," Sefi answered proudly.

"Really? Where?"

"You know those volcanic islands up near the top of the map?"

"Yeah; they're devoid of life because there's too much lava and no water to the friendly eye."

"That's got to be where Obsidian is hiding."

"Good for you. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"A bunch of us are going after him," Sefi informed.

Angel was suddenly bolt awake. "You can't go! What are you thinking?" she screamed as softly as she could.

"Look: there's still a chance that we can save Kenji and Kaelery, and we're gonna take it."

"Who's 'they'?"

"Edge, Edward, Red, Palom, Exeline and me. Wanna come?"

"No thanks. I chose life," Angel said, standing up and starting to walk away.

"Wait, Angel, where are you going?"

"To get someone to stop you, that's where," Angel answered over her shoulder.

"Angel, no. You can't tell anyone. We've got to do this: if we go now, we could save our friends," Sefi begged.

"Why's Exeline so serious about this anyway?" Angel asked.

"She and Kenji were supposed to get married in the spring. _That's_ why," Sefi explained.

"Really? I didn't know," Angel said, feeling very sad for both of them but still skeptical about the mission.

"Look, Angel, remember what Cid told us about the tower of Zot?" Sefi asked.

"Yeah, I remember."

"This could be a similar deal. If Exeline really cares about Kenji, she should go and at least _try_ to save him. Don't you think?""

Angel nodded. "She's very lucky to have friends who are willing to help her. This is going to be a sticky job."

"Sure you don't wanna come? Sefi asked. "We've always got room for one more you know."

"I'm needed here. If mom and daddy wake up and find both of their daughters gone, they'll be more upset than if it's just you."

"You won't tell them where we've gone, will you?" Sefi pleaded.

"I'll take it to the grave; promise," Angel assured her sister.

"Just in case I don't come back, you'd better be as good as KluYa thinks you'll be. I might now be here to back you up," Sefi said, walking away to go join her group.

"Oh, you'll come back," Angel told her. "You always do, you know."

22222222222

Yoi! Now we're getting somewhere! Off we go, to the top of the world!

So, how about Akstaron's troubling past, eh? Isn't it fun, giving backgrounds to stand-in characters? Giving the Lord of Summons such a disturbing and traumatizing history was fun; I had always sort of pictured him as a very regal and forceful god, but benevolent to those whom he loved, like Rydia and her friends. I also figured that the seeds of greatness come from a rocky plot of land. We all know where Cecil started out...

Next update will most likely be either this weekend or early next week; Monday or Tuesday, likely as not. If you've got anything to say, rough spots to point out, problems for me to correct, you know where I'll be:

In my office, giving raises and promotions to my employees where they aren't due! Off to squander my finances on my incompetent staff for their lousy performance!

(loud crash in the distance)

Joey! I keep telling you to be careful with that priceless, one-of-a-kind vase! Now I'll have to buy a new one...


	8. Defending Mysidia's Tower

You know, the eighth of August marked the one year anniversary of Final Fantasy Four-and-a-Half's publishing. Wow... one whole year since I began this whole story, four months of work into that first part, and more than five months of work on this part. Kinda brings a tear to the eye.

(pops champagne)

While my employees have their little party to celebrate my glory, I'll hurry up and get this chapter up.

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Chapter 7: Defending Mysidia's Tower

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Cecil sighed, exasperated.

"I'll ask you one last time," he said to Angel as sternly as he could, "Where did they go?"

"I don't know. I really don't," Angel lied.

"Look, I know you know where everyone went, now tell me."

"Well..."

"Where are they, Angel. You know you have to tell us."

"Well, I_ do_ know where they went," Angel confessed.

"So tell me," Cecil insisted.

"I can't. I promised that I wouldn't," Angel protested.

The king sighed and ran his fingers through his hair to keep from doing something rash, vexed with his child once again.

"Where do you _think_ they would go?" Angel hinted.

(heads go up around the room)

"They figured out where Obsidian went, didn't they," Porom guessed.

Angel nodded her head.

Porom and Rydia both growled at the same time.

"If that ninja comes back, I'm going to hit him _so_ hard," the summoner fumed. "No... _Shiva_'s going to be the one hitting."

"You keep her around to hit my brother too," Porom requested.

"Pfft. Men," Rydia remarked. Porom gave her a high-five.

"Would you two stop plotting for one minute and think about right _now_," Rosa snapped. "I don't like it either, but there's not much that we can do about it if Angel won't tell us where they've gone."

"And I'm going to any time soon," Angel informed.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Yang.

"We're going to have to head back to Mysidia," Cecil answered. "Akstaron was right: our people back at base need us. We'll come back if a battle occurs, but we really should get back."

Everyone nodded agreement.

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And so, back through Devil's Road they all went, arriving back at Mysidia around dusk.

Rydia, who was leading with a torch, went to the door and unlocked it with a key that Porom had given her. When she stepped outside the bright orange light of sunset blinded her for a moment. When her eyes adjusted, she could see that she wasn't alone: a familiar person in dragoon's armor was waiting at the door.

"Oh. Hello Kain," she said disdainfully.

"Good to see you back in one piece," Kain answered cheerily. "I hope you didn't eat all the others."

Rydia glared at him fiercely. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"I've just been waiting here for you since you left," Kain answered.

"Is someone out there?" someone called from behind her.

"Just Kain," Rydia hollered back, thrusting the torch into Kan's hand while she pushed the heavy door open for the others.

As soon as Cecil and Rosa were out the door, they caught up with Kain and dragged him away to explain what had happened; Rydia watched them with a lot of anger surging through her blood.

"I hate that guy," she murmured to no one in particular.

"I hate him too," agreed Porom, who had appeared beside her. "Annoying, cynical little beast."

"I see your opinion of him hasn't changed much since you were five," Rydia pointed out.

"And it never will," Porom informed stoutly.

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The next morning, someone came racing down from the top of the tower saying that they'd spotted and airship nearby. The Baronians had gone up to see if it was their guys flying around, but Angel quickly announced that it wasn't their airship. The ship had a prow like a dragon's head, painted all red but for two yellow eyes glowing like the sun. The hull was bright yellow.

"Doom ninjas," she identified, remembering the airship battle a few days ago; she couldn't remember the ship very well, but the dragon head did strike her memory.

And the colors were a dead give-away.

"The ship appears to be headed this way," Cecil added, studying the ship through his spyglass. "Just what we need."

"So what are we going to do?" Rosa asked, ready to run and do whatever was needed of her.

"Go and get some people from last night's party and bring them up here armed and ready. Angel and I will stay up here and keep an eye on these goons."

Rosa nodded and hurried off to get reinforcements, leaving her husband and daughter on the roof.

"So what do we do now?" Angel asked.

"Get ready to fight, hope that there aren't too many of them, wait for your mother to get back. There's little else that we _can_ do at this point," Cecil answered, closing his spyglass and going back to the staircase that led to the next floor down.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked, following after him.

"I'm going to see what there is to barricade that room, in case the fight goes sour," Cecil explained.

"There are a bunch of chairs and a desk, I think," Angel offered. "I think there are some bookshelves too. Think they'll work?" she asked, surveying the room.

"Probably; at least for a few minutes. That should buy us enough time to get out of the tower."

"Swell. I think I hear the others coming up now. Let's go see how much closer the ship came," Angel suggested as she walked back to the staircase.

"At the speed it seemed to be moving, it should still be a few miles away," Cecil pointed out.

Angel stuck her head out of the doorway and gasped.

"What? What's the matter?" Cecil asked her.

"The ship is a few hundred yards away," Angel called back bleakly.

"_What_? That's impossible," Cecil shouted, running to see for himself. But the ship was, indeed, only a few hundred feet from the tower.

"Oh, this is bad," Cecil muttered, trying to figure out how the heck the ship came so close so fast.

Luckily Rosa and the others that he'd sent for appeared in the door behind them a second later.

"What's all this we hear about Doom Ninjas?" Rydia demanded, brandishing her whip menacingly.

"Right that way," Angel directed, pointing out the door and onto the tower's open roof. Everyone filed out of the door as quickly as they could; most surprised by the little time they had left to prepare for battle.

"They were so far away when I left," Rosa said nervously. "How did they get here so fast?"

"Search me," Cecil answered, drawing his sword. "It took us by surprise too."

"Enough chit-chat," Porom demanded, knocking an arrow onto her bow. "I'm not letting these maniacs take _my_ tower."

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Rydia had left Aron on the first floor. Before she left she told him to go and hide somewhere and stay there until she came for him. So the little scamp had gone and hid in a broom closet.

Being only three, he had an idea of this whole thing being a grand adventure. In his underdeveloped little brain, he saw the hiding as a great escape from bad guys who intended to kill him. And now he had to use his wits to outsmart them.

His wits were severely limited, but he didn't know that.

But Aron was growing bored of hiding in this broom closet and wanted to come out. He felt sure that his mama should have come for him by now, and that she must be in some kind of horrible trouble if she was taking so long. So he reached for the doorknob, planning on saving her from whatever was detaining her.

But as he turned the knob and was just stepping out of his hiding place, the tower shook violently. The impact sent Aron to the floor, and back into the closet.

He suddenly didn't want to go find his mama, though he was scared that now she might _never_ come back for him. The tower shook again and he could hear the tower groaning from another violent hit.

Aron cloistered himself in a corner of the closet, hoping that he would be safe there.

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Meanwhile, on the roof, the airship had collided with the tower, which caused the first quake. It then fired a blast from it's cannons into the tower, causing the second tremor. With that ninjas had poured onto the roof, veritably surrounding the fighters. They had managed to hack and slash their way through the crowd and into the stairwell behind them.

The doorway was wide, allowing three people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. But the flow of the ninjas was minimal, keeping several from surging in at once. However, they were slowly pressing the three fighters (Cecil, Angel and Porom) back further and further.

"This isn't working," Cecil said after five minutes of tedious fighting. "We have to get to a better stage."

"How do you propose we do _that_?" Porom demanded, reloading her bow.

"Cast a block spell so we can barricade the door and get out of here," Angel ordered.

Without another word, Porom began chanting her stop spell. She cast it on the ninjas in front of her, making them freeze in place. Once they were stopped, the fighters began piling the furniture in the room against the stairwell. When all the furniture was blocking the attackers, they dashed out the other door and onto the next floor.

But they were barely down the next flight of stairs when the heard something hit the wooden furniture and splinter it all. The sound of angry people crashing through the wreckage was the next sound that followed.

Porom opened the first door she saw and said, "Quick. Get in here. I've got a plan."

Porom's plans were good ones, in general. The rest of the party complied with no complaint.

The mage positioned all her friends on either sides of the door and told them to be ready for an ambush. She herself stood on the opposite side of the room, right in front of the door where she would be plainly seen if anyone walked through the door.

The others didn't see why she would be standing there, but they didn't argue: a ninja was shouting orders right outside the door.

"Where did they go?" demanded a female ninja angrily.

"Shut up, Mallory," another female ordered sharply. "There are three rooms on this floor; they must be in one of them. Here's what we're gonna do: Wexton, Tori and Mallory take this room. Soran, Mike and Mallina take that room over there. Joshua, Tramp and I will take the room on the end. The rest of you guys swarm the house and take everyone else in the house prisoner."

"Yes ma'am," all the ninjas chorused. Most of the ninjas could be heard clomping away down the stairs.

"If either of you two teams find the paladins, kill them," the leader instructed.

"And the others, Medusa?" asked a male ninja.

"What do _I_ care what you do with the others. Just kill that blonde king and the little girl; that's all that I care about," Medusa answered shortly. The teams all went off to find their quarries after that.

The door opened and three ninjas walked in, all dressed in their trademark yellow and red-bahamut symbols. Surprisingly enough, they hardly looked eastern at all. In fact, they looked like they could be from Baron or Troia. Two were male, one tall and sturdy with blond hair and the other the other a bit shorter and kind of fat with greasy brown hair. The third was a woman, about Angel's height, with wisps of cherry-red hair poking out of a kerchief around her head.

Naturally, Porom was the first thing they noticed.

"Hey, look! There's one," the woman said, pointing at the mage.

"We're not blind, Mallory," the blonde guys snarled.

"You tell us where the others are," the brown haired guy demanded.

"Oh, we're right here," Yang answered, closing the door with a bang.

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The other six ninjas on that floor were searching the other rooms heard loud crashing and banging and muffled shouting down the hall. Of course they assumed that Wexton, Tori and Mallory had found their objective and were dealing with them in their own brutal way. Then a door slammed and everyone came out to see what had happened.

At the end of the hallway were three figures, clad in yellow. Each of them had a captor in hand.

"Finally, you guys," Medusa said happily. "The paladins are dead?"

"Yeah, they sure are," the blonde guy, Wexton, said proudly.

"And the others?" copper haired Soran asked.

"We took the ones that we didn't kill," the chubby Tori said dully.

The three they hadn't slain, by the way, were Odin, Porom and Rosa.

"What will we do with them?" asked Mallory.

"Take them back to the boss, of course, Medusa explained. "Let's see how the others are doing," she commanded, motioning for everyone to follow her downstairs.

The ninjas advanced, leading their captives in front of them.

What they didn't know was that Wexton and Mallory were really Cecil and Angel, pretending to be ninjas. Tori, however, had been forced into playing along with their game.

"Loosen your grip, you stupid oaf," Porom demanded the fat ninja angrily.

"Why should I?" Tori demanded.

"'Cause _I'll_ hit you with my lance," Kain hissed, sneaking out the door and following at a distance safe distance.

"Are you sure that this is going to work," Odin asked his captor, who looked like Mallory but was actually Angel.

"Of course we are," Angel assured him. "Just play the part and you'll be fine."

"What do we do once we're down the stairs?" Rosa asked.

"Surprise the other ninjas, find Aron, get out of the tower. _Fast_," Cecil explained, finding it hard to speak through the yellow bandana that covered most of his face.

"The rest of us have your back," Kain called as quietly as he could. "What are we going to do with Mallory and Wexton?"

"Leave them were they are; we'll deal with them later," Porom directed. Kain nodded obediently and went back to the room.

"You'd better not hurt them," Tori warned, forcefully squeezing Porom's wrist.

"Stop doing that," she demanded, kicking his shin.

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On the first floor, Medusa watched with grim amusement as her squadron tore the tower apart, looking for hiding rebels. Only five had been found, knocked unconscious and dragged outside so far; she was convinced there were more.

The boss, Red Bahamut, had said that there might even be a small child around. No more than five years old. He had given her express instructions to bring the child back, if it was found. Why exactly he wanted a whelp so specifically she didn't know.

"Has anyone found any sign of this alleged child yet?" she asked one of her men.

"If there _is_ a child here, there's no sign of it. But if he's hiding somewhere, we'll find him," he answered.

"You'd better. I don't know what the boss wants with this kid, but if we leave him behind because _you_ were slack we'll _all_ get it, understand?"

The ninja nodded and went to hunt again.

Finally, Wexton, Mallory and Tori came back down with their captives in tow.

"What took you three so damn long?" Medusa demanded. "I was beginning to think your prisoners overpowered you."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you," Wexton responded. "Where do we put them?"

"Take 'em outside, get them on the ship. Just don't let them get away."

The ninjas nodded and headed for the door.

Just as Medusa was beginning to think that maybe, now that the paladins were dead, that things might go better for her, she saw a figure dart across the hall above her. She couldn't tell what the person looked like, but she did catch a blur of green hair and clothing running into one of the four rooms on that floor.

_That woman upstairs had green hair and a green dress, didn't she?_ Medusa remembered.

_I'd better be seeing things,_ she thought as she went to the stairs, intending to finish the sloppy job her cohorts had done.

She opened the door and peered in. She didn't see anyone, but there was a closet on the other end of the room where her target could be hiding. So she shut the door and went to check the closet.

She heard a lock click behind her and turned to see the green-haired woman taking a silver key from the doorknob. With a certain amount of alarm she also noticed that the dragoon and monk from before were here too.

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Aron was startled and terrified when the closet door opened and a female ninja stood towering above him.

"Ha! There you are, you little scamp," she said, sounding pleased with herself. She surged forward and grabbed Aron by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out into the light.

"No! Let me go!" Aron screamed, trying to squirm away from the ninja. "Mama! Mama!"

"Your mother won't help you where she is, kid. Stop fighting: it only makes it worse," the ninja advised, even though Aron couldn't hear her through the noise he was making.

"Hey, Soran!" she yelled to one of her pals, who was nearest to her. "Where'd Medusa go? I found the kid she's been looking for."

"Dunno, Mallina," Soran answered. "I think I saw her run upstairs to the second story and go into the third door. I haven't seen her com out yet."

"So what do I do with him?" Mallina demanded.

"Take him out to the ship and get him on board. "Don't let him get away or Medusa will kill you," Soran suggested.

Mallina nodded agreement and went to the door, dragging Aron kicking and screaming behind her.

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"Hey! Look down there," Angel said, pointing at the door to the tower. She and her companions were now standing on the deck of an airship that was parked in front of the tower's courtyard; and from where she was standing she could see quite plainly a female ninja hauling a small boy behind her.

"One of the ninjas has Aron," she called to her parents. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to rescue him. I thought that Rydia would have been down sooner," Cecil remarked as he finished tying Tori to the ship's mast.

"I can do that," Porom volunteered. "Rosa, can I borrow your bow please?" she asked.

"Sure," Rosa agreed, handing the mage a bow and a few arrows that she'd found on the ship.

Porom loaded the bow and walked to the railing, ducking just below the railing so that the approaching ninja couldn't see her. She peered over the edge and slowly stood up, leaning the bow on the railing and aiming at the ninja.

She let the arrow fly, intending for the arrow to hit the ninja in the chest. But she skillfully dodged the arrow and it hit her in the arm instead. In her shock and blinding pain she let go of Aron and he ran for the deck of the ship, hopping to find some help.

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The ninjas inside were all scared silly when a fierce looking dragoon, a muscled monk and an angry looking woman with green hair stormed from the stairs; each of them had a blood-spattered weapon in hand.

"Your commander is dead," the dragoon informed them. "All of you get out or you'll meet a similar fate."

All the ninjas crowded for the door, fearful and cowardly by nature, intimidated by the three newcomers.

"Wait," the woman demanded. "Where is my son. I know you found him."

"He's out there," one ninja answered quickly, pointing at the door. "A woman named Mallina has him. She's taking him to the airship."

"Thank you," the woman said quietly, and began chanting a high leveled fire spell. After chanting for a few seconds she released her spell, sending all the ninjas to the ground.

"Let's go find the others," the monk directed. He and the other two followed him out the door.

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"Look, here they come," Odin said as Kain, Rydia and Yang all emerged from the tower.

Rydia was the first one on board. She came dashing up the gangplank, franticly looking around the deck.

"Where's Aron? Is he okay?" she asked.

"He's up there," Rosa answered, pointing to the helm. Aron stood in front of it, pushing the handle around, and having what looked to be a blast.

"What about our big force? What happened to them?" Kain asked as he stepped on deck.

"They were all loaded onto the other big airships, all safe and sound," Cecil informed, going to relieve Aron's position at the helm. "They're all headed to Baron and getting ready for a battle. We should be following them."

"Then let's go, already," Yang ordered. "They'll need all the help they can get, after all."

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Happy, happy! Another good chapter finished at last.

Another thing I found out was that the '08 Summer Olympics begin on FFIV-1/2's 2nd birthday. How awesome!

Next chapter covers the adventures our other party has at the top of the world. Stay tuned!


	9. The Black Tower

Ah... And so begins a new school year... Of course, this means that you won't be seeing a whole lot of me around until Christmas break. Well, I'm gonna try to get this big-huge chapter out of the way. I hope you all like it.

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Chapter 8: The Black Tower

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Sefi was still concerned about her family after three days of flight to the top of the world. All she could do was worry about the parents and, most importantly, the sister she'd left behind. Talking was hard for her to do, as was eating or sleeping. The water disappearing behind her and the wind blowing her hair about did nothing to comfort her, as it usually did.

She was standing alone at the railing, watching the water far below her in the fading sunset. It was only one o'clock in the afternoon, but the sun was already setting as they drew nearer and nearer to the top of the world.

"It's weird to see a sunset so early, huh?" someone beside her said. She looked up and saw that Palom had come to stand next to her while she wasn't paying attention.

"It's weird wondering about my family all the time; I hardly ever have to worry about them, but I am now and I can't stop," Sefi explained, rubbing her sleep-deprived eyes. "It's been making me sick."

"Between little sleep and little food and driving, I'd imagine you would be sick," Palom agreed.

Sefi sighed, bracing herself heavily against the railing, surprised to see that she was shaking a little bit.

"I... I'm scared, I think," she whispered.

"What are you scared of?" Palom asked.

"Obsidian, I guess. For the first time in days, I'm worried for myself. It's strange."

"Don't worry," Palom advised, laying his hand on hers. "You'll be fine. You and your sister are down near indestructible, remember?"

Sefi looked up at him, here blue eyes suddenly filling with unexplainable tears. "Do you really think I'll come back this time?"

"I know so," Palom assured her.

And then he did something very surprising: he leaned over and kissed her.

Sefi couldn't think for a half a moment. The gesture was so sudden and surprisingly to her liking.

_Is this really happening to me? Am I really here? Or am I just dreaming?_

She decided to stop thinking about it and let herself dissolve into the moment that she had been dreaming of for so long.

_Who cares if I'm dreaming? This is one of the best things that've ever happened to me!_

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Edge liked to fly airships. Though he never used it anymore, he still treasured his first one, _Falcon_. In fact, he really didn't drive them at all. The last time he done it was three years ago, when he and Rydia had been summoned to Mysidia.

So, like many other things, taking the wheel of _The Eclipse_ came rather naturally. Considering that there were only two other people on board who knew how to drive the help he provided was welcomed with open arms; particularly since the other two were young women and couldn't do everything by themselves just yet.

In fact, Red and Sefi both had turned to nervous wrecks over the past day in a half. Edge supposed it was the realization of the grave danger they had _so willingly_ volunteered to confront settling in. He'd been down _that_ path before. The realization that his parents were gone and nothing could save them but his blade; the fact that he and his friends might not walk back to _The Lunar Whale_ after finding Zeromus; the daunting fact, at one point or another, that Eblan might not make a comeback no matter what he or anyone else did for it: those grim realizations still seemed all too fresh.

And now he was confronting an evil bahamut who was bent on world domination, starting with all on board this ship and their families.

Edge had learned a long time ago to just let it sink in and deal with it as you went on what was left of your merry way; it was easier to deal with it that way; at least, it was for him.

But, as good as he was with dealing with his nerves, it was all that he could do to stifle a cry of terror when he finally saw their destination, looming in front of the ship. There was a cluster of volcanic islands, a thirty mile long archipelago in the fire-lit water. The sun was setting directly behind them, like a great throne in the middle of a magnificent audience chamber. And up from the center of one of the largest islands, right in the middle of the setting sun, a great black tower rose; a charred tree limb, enveloped by fire.

_That's it,_ Edge thought, trying not to panic. _That's where we're headed. God, I hope it doesn't turn out to be _too_ bad._

"Land-ho!" he hollered to everyone on deck. "Destination dead-ahead. Say your prayers, people: this may be the last time we see the light of day."

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The tower in and of itself was a marvelous structure; one that only a bahamut could have possibly dreamed up or built. The entire tower was built of smooth black stone, glossy and polished like a mirror and flaming hot to the touch (Edward guessed that it was probably obsidian, and everyone felt inclined to agree). It was also very wide and very tall: after studying it for several minutes at a good distance, Exeline judged it to be maybe two miles wide. She tried to calculate in her head how high it might be, but she said that it made her head spin after a while; she also claimed to have a slight case of nausea.

"This won't be easy," the ninja admitted. "The tower's so tall; we'll never get anywhere if we have to land and climb all the way up."

"Would that stop you?" Edward asked.

Exeline straightened and answered broadly, "I'd climb _twice_ as high if I had to."

"And I'd climb it with you," Palom offered stoutly. Shockingly, nobody doubted it for a second.

"We'd go too," Red added, pointing to herself and Sefi, who nodded her head in agreement.

"We've got a good bunch," Edge pointed out. "Smart, brave, strong, two good magic users—I think we can handle it if we work together."

"Have you ever written speeches?" Edward asked the driver.

"No," Edge responded. "I just hung around Cecil for a long time, that's all. Hey, look! They have airship docks suspended on the side of the tower! What fabulous luck!" he cried, steering upward towards a higher landing dock.

"Do you think this could be a trap?" Sefi wondered.

"They fly airships; they need a place to land," Palom pointed out. "Besides: how many people do you suppose would try and do something this crazy?"

"You know, that really didn't help."

(grin!)

Sefi couldn't help but soften when Palom smiled at her; he grinned like that to get on Porom's nerves and sometimes to lift his friend's spirits. Today it made her melt. And with her went a good portion of her immediate fear.

"So long as we're all a team, I think we'll manage. When has teamwork ever failed us?" he pointed out.

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Inside the tower, Obsidian contemplated his captives, locked in an iron cage. The room was in the topmost part of the tower. It was right above the mouth of the volcano, brightly lit by the lava below. The smooth black floor stopped suddenly, leading down into the volcano; it meant sure death to anyone who fell over the end. The iron cage was built into the wall, painfully close to the edge of the floor.

"Whatever am I going to do with the two of you?" Obsidian wondered with a sigh. "If you were the paladins I had come for originally, I'd just toss you both over the side and have it over with. However, I think I'll have some fun with you two first; you can't really cause me much trouble, now can you?"

Kenji snorted at the dragon. "You're nor scaring _me_," he informed stoutly.

"I don't?" Obsidian said, confounded. "Why not?" he demanded.

"Our friends are going to beat you eventually," Kaelery explained. "While _we_ may die, they'll live and go on to fell you! You'll never win!"

Obsidian spat a large ember in Kaelery's general direction. It landed frightfully close to the cage, heating the bars to the point that she and Kenji had to back away.

"I think you overestimate your friends. They're just a bunch of _humans_," he said with contempt, "and I'm a whole bahamut. You're all doomed."

A yellow-clad ninja ran into the room and skidded to a stop in a most un-ninja-like stop.

"Lord Obsidian, your highness, Sir…" he stammered.

Obsidian looked back at his minion, surprised and a bit irritated. "What do you want?" he demanded. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Yes, I can see that," the ninja said shakily, looking over to see Kaelery and Kenji in the cage. "But there's been a security breach. A bunch of humans has docked near the top of the tower and have begun making their way up here! What are you going to do?"

Obsidian stared at the ninja, disbelievingly. His eye twitched slightly and the ninja stepped back a bit in case the bahamut loose his fire on him.

"Go find them and kill them _all_. Do _not_ let them reach the top. If they do, you will pay for it dearly; am I quite clear?"

The ninja whimpered and nodded his head rigidly.

"…..Well go! Why are you still here?!" Obsidian demanded.

The ninja yelped and ran out of the room.

"There, you see?" Kenji pointed out. "They came to help us out after all!"

"Yeah! We told you they would!" Kealery added triumphantly.

Obsidian brooded so much he began to shake visibly. The captives decided that it might be wise to shut their yaps and wait for their friends to come.

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Meanwhile, several floors below...

The rescue party found themselves wading through a never-ending army of yellow-clad ninjas. Though the task of getting up to the top floor now seemed even more out of reach than ever before, each of them were shocked to have no thoughts of giving up the mission. And none of them fought harder against the attackers than Exeline.

"Hey; I just noticed something," Red pointed out to Sefi over the noise. "They are wearing identical pendants, see?"

"Yeah. What about them?" Sefi asked as she beat off another ninja with her short sword (she would have preferred using a bow and some arrows, but contact was just too close right now).

"Maybe the pendants have something to do with all of this?" Red suggested.

"Why would the pendants have anything to do with anything?" Sefi asked, trying to get a good look at one of the necklaces. From what she could tell, these pendants were just little glass bobbles made of desert sand and hung from white silk cords. From what Sefi could tell, there was nothing interesting about them at all.

However, Palom had overheard Red's suggestion and seemed to agree with her. "There's something weird about those things; I can feel it," he added. "It's like a metallic sort of humming feeling; can't you feel it?"

"No, I can't," Sefi answered as she brought her blade down on someone's head.

"Try pulling someone's necklace off and see what happens," Palom suggested, reaching out and trying to get hold of one really big guy's necklace.

Sefi didn't really understand what the necklaces had to do with anything, but she figured that if Palom and Red could feel something strange then she should probably do what they said; if they were the only ones who could sense it, there was a good chance it was magic.

Instead of attacking the next ninja who came running at her, she swung to the side and caught the unsuspecting woman in a head lock. The ninja was surprised, and tried to wrestle her way out of Sefi's grip, but Sefi held on as tight as she could.

"This is gonna hurt," she warned and reached down for the necklace. She yanked hard on the cord and it came off with a snap. The ninja yelped in pain and spun back, rubbing her neck. Her eyes darted around her at the chaos around her, and she blinked several times; because she wore her dragon-veil over her face it was hard to tell her expression, but Sefi could see in her eyes that she was confused, as if she didn't know where she was.

_I guess the mages were right again,_ Sefi thought, feeling guilty for questioning her friends. She didn't linger on it for too long: she began going after other ninjas, intent on their pendants.

Meanwhile, Red and Palom had gone to work cutting, tearing, and otherwise removing the pendants from the ninjas around them. Soon, many of the ninjas were either standing around dazedly or attacking other ninjas.

"Retreat!" someone yelled. All the ninjas seemed to agree and began running away. All but the people whose pendants had been removed crowded up a narrow staircase.

"I'll bet one of those mages casted a confuse spell or something," one of the ninjas muttered audibly to a buddy as they ran off.

Once the attackers were gone, the space one which the party was standing on seemed very big and too quiet. Sefi looked over to see if that first person she freed was still alive and found that the woman had barely moved from where she had been. She had sat down on the cold stone floor, a lost necklace in one hand, staring alternately at it and then at her empty hand. Her veil had been cast aside somewhere and Sefi could see the expression on her face quite clearly now: she didn't look as confused anymore as she did shocked and guilty. Her gray eyes were framed by flowing strawberry blonde hair, proving once again that these ninjas weren't just easterners.

"Do any of you remember anything?" Edward asked the people around him.

"I do," a large man said, removing his veil. He had fair white skin and black almond-shaped eyes. A long scar spread from his temple to below his chin. Edge animated suddenly when he saw him.

"Hey! I know you; you're a monk from Eblan. You're, uh... damnation! There are too many _senseis_ in Eblan; which one are you again?"

"I am Komi Arkuwa-_sensei_, my king," the man answered, bowing respectfully to Edge. "I was kidnapped by some ninjas while I was on my way to Fabul on a diplomatic mission several months ago."

"Oh, I remember now," Edge said thoughtfully. "We spent two months looking all over the eastern continent for you when you never got to Fabul."

"When we are brought here," Komi explained, picking a discarded necklace up off the floor, "we are outfitted with these pendants. They have a certain hypnotic power when you wear them. Eventually, you forget that they are even there and just go about doing the bidding of the dragon."

Sefi looked back over her shoulder at the woman on the floor, who had been listening but remained fixated on her hands. "I feel a little sick," she muttered, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I could've removed this cursed thing at any time, but I didn't even know that it was there... I feel so ashamed."

"You needn't feel like that," Komi assured her. "We were all in that position. None of us knew that we were being controlled, so none of us bothered to think about it."

"...I still feel like I should go hide in a cave somewhere," the woman said softly, her voice filled with guilt.

_She must not have a lot of experience in the world,_ Sefi thought, feeling kind of sorry for this poor woman. _But then, I've been there too, sort of. I guess I'd feel like crawling off into a hole and dying if I were in the same position._

"The important thing is," Komi said comfortingly to the woman, "that we are free now, and can do something to fix this horrible problem."

The woman looked up for the first time, and everyone saw with mild shock that she couldn't have been older than 19. Suddenly, Sefi didn't really blame her for acting somewhat childish.

"What can we do?" the girl asked. She didn't sound hopeless, but rather motivated.

"You can help us get to the top floor," Exeline informed. All the ninjas turned their attention on her questioningly, waiting for her to continue. She cleared her throat and explained, "Obsidian has taken two of our friends captive, and we're here to save them. Although, it is apparent that we can't take on this entire tower on our own."

"You're already five floors to the top," a man nearby pointed out.

"No offense," Edward broke in, "but if we run into more people like you we might not make it to the top."

Most of the ninjas blushed (they had all doffed their veils) and the girl breathed heavily as if she were going to cry.

"Do you think you guys could help us?" Exeline asked everyone.

"It should not be too exceedingly hard," Komi said thoughtfully. He tuned to the others and said, "If Obsidian has taken their friends, they'll need all their strength for the fight ahead. If we put our masks back on, we might be able to rot away the ninja force from the inside and save our rescuers time and precious energy. I say that we help them. What do you all say?"

22222222222

Obsidian was shaking even more violently than before as he starred at the charred remains of a ninja herald who had arrived less than a minute ago. These rescuers weren't just passionate fools as he had thought: they were strong brave fighters and, apparently, clever enough to figure out how the pendants worked. Now a bunch of his ninjas were loose, probably helping the rescue party, and if the party got to the top floor...

_What _if_ they got to the top floor?_ Obsidian wondered. _If they do make it up here (and that is likely now), what are they gonna do? Kill me or something? Ha! What am I so worried about?_

He turned to glare at Kenji and Kaelery, who were celebrating for their friends and cowering from the bahamut at the same time. His yellow eyes gleamed with a maniacally gleeful intensity that could have burnt holes in their heads if he had wished it.

"Enjoy the feeling," Obsidian advised coolly, though they didn't listen to him. "It won't last. As soon as your friends walk though the door, they will die; and I'll make sure to make a show of it for you."

22222222222

Komi, wearing his veil once more, approached a sentry and planned a quick speech as he walked.

_I hate this veil, _he thought. _I feel like my head's a cave. How vain Obsidian must be, to have himself printed all over our clothes, and even to have his mouth printed over ours. He's taken over all of us in every way, it seems._

Komi cleared his throat to get the bored-looking sentry's attention. The man glanced up at him and asked, "What do you want on this floor?"

"I'm just on my way up to check on some stuff," Komi answered (he was never a good actor).

"Let me see your ID and a clearance pass," the sentry said, holding out his hand for the requested items.

Komi hesitated, thinking of options; there weren't a lot: punch the sentry in the face and tell everyone to hurry before he woke up, engage him in combat, or rip off his necklace.

_I could get that necklace off before he knew what was going on,_ Komi decided.

"Hey, who's that?" the monk said, pointing to the empty stairs beyond. The sentry fell for the bait and turned to look. While his head was turned Komi reached out and grabbed hold of the silk cord around the sentry's neck. He yanked the cord hard and it snapped off with a tiny ripping sound.

The sentry turned back with a cry of pain and stared angrily at Komi. But after a moment he blinked his eyes rapidly as if he were emerging from a daydream. He gazed around him and whispered, "Where am I? What's going on?"

"You've been freed from a hypnosis charm that has held your mind for several months. Now, can you help me and my friends get to the top floor?"

The sentry's eyes widened in terror; he still remembered most of what had happened to him since he came to this tower. "You don't mean that you're going to take on the bahamut, do you? You'll never come back alive!"

"We'll see about that. I'm not going up there, but my friends are valiant fighters, and I believe that they can best him in combat," Komi informed.

"But he's a bahamut! He'll kill them all!"

"Just go start ripping off people's necklaces," Komi ordered the sentry, showing him his own necklace for a guide. "And go have someone mobilize a fleet of airships as soon as you can. Go on, move it!" he shooed the sentry away. The frazzled, suddenly timid sentry ran off clumsily to do his bidding.

"Clear," Komi called to the party and other people behind him. As he went ahead up the stairs, Edge materialized by his side to find out what the deal was now.

"The closer we get to the bahamut," Red said quietly to her father, Sefi and Palom, "the more nervous I get. We all heard that guy yelling, and he's right. We might not walk away from this."

"I know," Edward said, wrapping his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "It's really scary, even before you know just how dangerous a mission is. I remember the first time I ever did something like this; I thought I'd die of a heart attack before I ever got where I was going."

The kids all had to laugh, if only a little bit. "Porom and I remember that too," Palom mentioned. "It was fun in the beginning, but we agreed for a long time that if we had known how deeply involved we were going to be, we would never have gone near Cecil at all."

"When did you guys change your minds?" Edward asked.

"Right around the time we met the girls," Palom answered definitely. "We knew as soon as we saw them that being so deeply involved was going to be a good thing from then on."

He glanced down at Sefi, who only came up to his shoulder, and grinned broadly. Sefi slowly raised her eye to meet his and smiled back. He reached over and took her hand in his and held it tightly, and she could tell just how nervous he was, despite how calm he seemed.

_We've at least got to make it to the top. We've at least got to get as many ninjas freed as we can. Even if we don't come back, we'll have a fleet of ninjas who can get back to Baron and help the others,_ she thought.

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Obsidian was lying on the floor, tapping his silver claws on the black, glass-like stone, and gazing boredly at his captives.

"Well," he said with a sigh, "It would seem that, perhaps, I've underestimated your friends a bit. They've found my lair, flown here, discovered how I control my ninja hoard, freed a good deal of them, and now they're almost to the top floor. I'm... impressed."

Kenji and Kaelery fidgeted, not sure how to respond.

"No, go on, laugh at me; insult me. Celebrate. How can it hurt me now?" Obsidian said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

With that, the two began rejoicing, giving each other high-fives, and cheering for their friend's success.

The bahamut smiled ruefully at them and continued to drum his claws on the floor. "That's right, you two, laugh it up. Have some fun. After all, when your pals get up here, their all charcoal."

The two captives looked back up at him, realizing that he was right.

"What do you two say to that? I mean, they should be here in, like, five minutes; maybe less."

Kaelery cringed, but Kenji stood his ground.

"I'll bet anything that Exeline is in the party. I just know it," he said sorrowfully. He said it quietly, so that Obsidian wouldn't hear.

"She's very brave, and very loyal," Kaelery noted.

Kenji sighed. "She said that she wouldn't come up here."

"Did she _promise_?"

Kenji shook his head and sank to the floor, covering his eyes with one hand. "I should have made her promise. Now she'll die too."

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Komi ran up the stair, with Edge right behind him. Komi suddenly skidded to a halt and the king nearly crashed into him. When Edge peered over the older ninja's shoulder he saw there was an elaborately carved bronze door. A rearing dragon spewing flames from its mouth was engraved on it, along with a sentence in a strange alphabet that he didn't recognize.

Komi turned to Edge with a rather grim look on his face. "Behind this door lies the Red Bahamut, and your friends, doubtless. I cannot go with you; I must return and help the other ninjas. You will have to do battle with the monster on your own... Will you be alright?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid that you couldn't come with us even if you wanted to, Sir Komi," Edge assured the ninja. "We must do this alone."

"What will we do if you do not return, your highness?" Komi asked.

"Rydia will rule in my place. She'll make an excellent ruler, I know it."

Komi nodded. "The prince will doubtless be a great king himself. You r story will not go untold, I promise."

"You're a good man, Komi. Thank you for all your help," Edge said quietly. "Now go and ready the freed ninjas to escape. If we aren't back by sunset, leave without us."

Komi nodded. "I understand," he said, and began to walk back down the stairs. The other members of the group stepped to one side to make way for him. He turned back to look at them again and said, "It has been a pleasure knowing you all. Thank you for freeing us from the monster, and good luck in your rescue." With that, he turned back and continued on his way.

"I'm gonna miss him," Red murmured.

"So will I," Palom added. "But Edge was right: he can't help us in this fight."

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Obsidian stared at the door, waiting to hear footsteps in the hall. Finally he heard many people coming, then some words exchanged, then receding footsteps.

_What are they doing out there?_ he wondered.

At last he heard someone trying to force the door open. Of course, the door was far too heavy for them too push open on their own. He laughed quietly at the thought. The door had no knob or anything like that, but was meant to be pushed both ways.

_Oh, this is taking too long. I guess I should open the door for them. _He rose from the floor and moved to the door. He put his giant paw against the door and effortlessly nudged the door open for his guests.

He waited with his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for some familiar human or another to walk in. But no one came. He cocked his head slightly, wondering what the humans were doing _now_.

Suddenly, something stirred beside his arm. It was like a brush of wind and cool fingers touching his scales. With a start of nervousness, he remembered the feeling from a few days ago when he'd attacked Castle Baron: these felt like the invisible things that had attacked him that he could neither see nor touch. He tensed, fearing that the humans had sent these monsters to attack him first.

"Go away," Obsidian whispered to the invisible thing beside him. "Leave me be!" In response, something chuckled so quietly that his bahamut ears could hardly hear it.

Something stuck him in his arm, like a splinter; it didn't hurt so much at first, but then it sunk into his flesh, jabbing like a hot

needle. The bahamut reared back and yelped in pain, but the pain didn't stop and his arm was bleeding heavily. He also could see that he had a long bloody gash, not a simple stab.

To his amazement and horror, something jabbed into his belly scales somewhere, causing a searing pain but doing little more than drawing some blood. He looked down and saw a black arrow fletched with black feathers protruding from his belly. He tore it out, but it was quickly replaced, this time somewhere near his intestines, and another invisible sword raked across his tail. The sudden deadly shock of a lightning bolt hit him square in the back; it knocked him over, but didn't KO him. He struggled back up, but a fire spell pushed him back down. And ice spell joined it, freezing half of his reptilian body, while the fire spell continued bearing down on his other half. Soon, the fire spell died off and the ice spell took its place.

On the other side of the room, Kenji and Kaelery watched this whole thing playing out, not knowing if their friends (whom they could see through the open door) would actually KO the monster here in the tower. The invisible attackers seemed to be doing an excellent number on Obsidian, but they weren't sure if it would be enough.

Meanwhile, the cold of the ice spell had taken its toll on Obsidian: he had become sluggish and frozen, and he couldn't move. Once again, he heard footsteps and looked up, praying that he would be able to see what was attacking him. Instead, almost as a consolation, it was one of the humans; in fact, it was one that he recognized immediately: this was the foolish boy who hadn't been afraid of him because he could, apparently, see the invisible monsters.

The boy smiled almost pleasantly. "Long time, no see," he said happily. Without another word, the boy cast a high leveled ice spell on him.

_I can't believe he's still not scared of me!_ Obsidian thought, a shiver going down his massive spine. _My head alone is three times bigger than him! What is his prob—?_

_Oh yeah; he has something to do with the invisible monsters. I wonder if he controls them, somehow._

He sorely longed to try out his new idea and smash Palom into the wall, but he was impossibly frozen in place. It felt like a sheet of ice was forming over his back. He also saw the purple-haired girl run into the room, knock a black arrow to a longbow, and let the thing fly. The arrow landed in his arm and he yelped, but he couldn't even pull it out with his teeth, he was so stiff.

Palom turned back to the door and shouted, "He's pinned to the floor! Go quickly!" The other party members rushed through the door, adding anything they could to keep Obsidian down. Exeline and Edge didn't stop for very long: they ran across the room, trying not to look at Obsidian's massive form, and headed for the cage.

When he was within hearing distance, Edge asked the captives, "How does the door lock? How do we get you out?"

The prisoners ran to the bars, regarding them with both relief and upset.

"What are you all doing here?" Kenji demanded. "I thought I told you not to come!"

"You didn't really think I would let you die while I still had something to say about it," Exeline said pertly as she examined the lock gravely. "I never promised that wouldn't come."

"A fact that I realized only about ten minutes ago. You shouldn't have come; none of you should have," Kenji protested.

"What if Obsidian's strength comes back?" Kaelery asked as Exeline and Edge continued brooding over the lock on the bars.

"There are two powerful ice spell on him right now; he's frozen solid," Edge argued. "He's not getting up any time soon."

Kaelery stared past him at the battle in front of her. "I sure do hope you're right."

Edge suddenly snapped his finger and pulled a thin wire lock-pick out of his pocket. He put it into the lock, whistling a bright but quick victory song as he jimmied the pick and the lock clicked open. Exeline yanked the lock off the bars and flung the door open wide.

Kaelery dashed out, whipping out two daggers she'd hidden in her sari and flying at the dragon. Edge followed her, five shurikens materializing in his hands. Exeline grabbed Kenji by the wrist, pulling him toward the fight, but he stopped, holding her back. Exeline turned to see what the problem was.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Kenji took her by the shoulders and stared hard at her. "I still wish that you had stayed away, like had asked, but I am glad that you and the others came for us."

Exeline smiled and blushed a bit. "I wouldn't abandon you to death from a monster like Obsidian. I could never live with myself knowing that I hadn't done anything to save you."

"You're far too loyal for your own good," Kenji pointed out, planting a kiss on Exeline's forehead, "but that's what I love about you. Shall we fight that bahamut together, then?"

Exeline set her fighting claws back to fighting position and grinned broadly: quite clearly, her answer was a yes.

Meanwhile, Kaelery was attacking Obsidian's unfrozen tail with a passion; she was still too nervous to attack the end with teeth, so she contented herself with the tail. And, as far as she was concerned, the tail was challenge enough: it was one of the few parts of the dragon that wasn't frozen. The dragon growled, unable to see what was attacking his tail. And then he saw Kenji out of the corner of his eye and realized that Kaelery must be the one beating the crap out his tail. He lashed his tail violently at her, trying to knock her over the edge of the floor.

Kaelery, more nimble than she looked, was able to dodge the lashing tail for a while. Not that it stopped Obsidian: he kept trying, even though he couldn't see her or feel her until her blade struck his scales once more.

However, he finally felt something fall against his tail and heard a thump accompanied by a soft "Oof!" behind him ad knew that he'd swept the princess off her feet. With a serge of gratitude and triumph that gave him a slight adrenaline rush, he swished his tail toward her in a sweeping motion, pushing her toward the edge of the floor. As he did this, he began to push through the ice on his back and, to everyone's horror, began to rise.

Kaelery recovered from her wind loss almost in time to catch herself, but she was late by about a second. She finally came to her full senses as she found herself toppling over the floor, where the churning stomach of the volcano yawned a grim welcome.

With a shriek of terror Kaelery tried to grab hold of something, but there was nothing but smooth polished stone for her to hold onto. She just barely saw over the top of the floor her friends staring after her, confused and alarmed. And everything suddenly seemed to slow down for her. In the slow motion blur that she saw she could see Palom, Sefi, and Red all coming to try and help her.

_No! Don't come after me! It's too late, damn it!_ She thought.

_Oh well... I can still throw these,_ she remembered, feeling the knives in her hands. With a swift motion, she flicked the blades from her hands and they flew off, over the heads of her would-be rescuers. For a brief moment, the three were distracted by the whizzing knives and turned to see where they might land. Happily, they both landed on Obsidian; in the shoulder region, where major veins brought blood and oxygen to the brain. The blades sunk in deep, the metal cracking the cold-brittled scales. Blood began to leak from the wounds and the dragon screeched with pain. Obsidian reared back on his weak numb legs and fell back to the floor, writhing in pain.

_Ah... Maybe they won't be able to kill him now, but perhaps I've allotted them some time to get the hell out of here. My job is done,_ Kaelery though with a small sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling of falling free through the air; even if she was speeding toward her doom at the same time. She'd given her friends a way out, and that felt enough for her. She just prayed that they'd take the opportunity.

_All this heat is going to ruin my complexion,_ she thought ruefully. After that, she stopped thinking and watched the lava come closer and closer.

Edge, the apparent leader, took note that Kaelery had disappeared, and that her knives had flown over the edge of the floor. Not for the first time, the ninja felt a surge of strong emotions battling in his head. Kaelery was falling to her death, which was saddening; Obsidian had been KO'd again, which was a miracle; clearly, Kaelery had granted them means of escape, which he felt was a final wish not to be left un observed.

The sight of the three youngsters glancing distraughtly at him and then at the lava below almost made his heart break, but there was nothing that he could do about it; at least they had freed her in the end, and Kenji was still alive. He had to get the rest of them out before Obsidian regained too much of his strength. And besides: the sun was about to set and most of the airships would be leaving soon, so their only means of leaving would be gone as well.

"Come on everyone," the ninja said urgently. "If we don't hurry, Komi will tell everyone to leave and we'll be stranded here."

"But..." Red stammered, "But, Kaelery—"

"We can't do any thing more for her now. We have to leave before we get left behind. Move out," Edge commanded. He led the way back to the door and everyone followed silently after him.

Obsidian, however, wasn't completely unconscious yet. Just within his reach he found a large boulder, which he summoned the last of his strength to pick up. One of them was already dead, and it seemed to have weakened the others. No way was he going to let the other one leave.

"Hey," he said in a low, gravely voice When Kenji came into his line of sight. Exeline spoke up first, enraged now that the monster dared address anyone in the party.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Good game," Obsidian growled. With that, he threw the boulder as hard as he could in their general direction. He gasped with pain and fainted at last, his mighty head shaking the floor.

This time, the action slowed for Kenji. In his slowed vision, he saw the boulder speeding toward him and Exeline. She didn't seem so quick to react to it though. None of the others seemed to have reacted much beyond gasps of surprise. Perhaps it was because he was the only one whose vision had slowed to a crawl. It quickly dawned on him what he needed to do, and he would happily do it. The scene began to speed up again, and as it did he shoved Exeline to the floor. As time returned to its regular pace, the boulder hit him in the side.

When Kenji looked up again, his whole body ached miserably. The boulder had carried him several yards, and was now settled firmly on top of him. He could tell that most of his bones and vital organs were already crushed or succumbing to the weight on them.

Behind him, everyone screamed at once. His hearing was fading, but he could plainly make out the sound of someone running to him. Of course, it was Exeline, her face already streaked with tears. She looked as if she wanted to say something but all she could do was shake her head disbelievingly.

"...Why?" she finally breathed. "_Why?_"

"Take the sword," Kenji said quietly, glancing at the gold-wrought sword on the ground nearby.

Exeline shook her head again, more rigorously and turned to the others. "Help me move this thing," she called to them, trying to move the heavy boulder.

Kenji stopped her, taking her hand in his before she could really get started. His eyes were beginning to darken. The world was fading around him. There was nothing that she could do to save him now.

"It... It was worth it," he rasped. "Get out... quickly."

"No! I won't leave you here!" Exeline protested, clutching Kenji's hand as hard as she could.

He just smiled contentedly at her. "I love you," he whispered, and he closed his eyes. His hand went limp and cold in Exeline's hand, and she began to panic.

"Kenji! Open you r eyes! Just hold on a little longer; I can save you!" she wailed, knowing that he really couldn't hear her. "I came here to save you, and I'm gonna, damn it! I'm not going to abandon you!"

Edge felt like crying too. He hadn't felt this miserable for someone else in a long time, and it made him sick. He couldn't stand to see someone else in so much pain; he just couldn't take it. So he glided up to her as quietly as a snake and put his hand close to her throat. In a single graceful movement and just the right technique, he sent the frenzied woman to sleep. She collapsed, but he caught her before she could hit her head on the stone floor.

He turned to look at the others, all on the verge of tears, if not weeping already. They had been so triumphant less than five minutes ago; how bitter their victory seemed now.

"Edward," Edge commanded, rising to his feet with Exeline in his arms, "go get Kenji's sword. Quickly."

Edward nodded, wiping away a few tears, and ran to get the gold sword from the floor. Made from a gold-steel alloy, the blade was heavy but well crafted. Not accustomed to the weight of great swords, Edward felt like his arms would be ripped from their sockets. But he managed to lift it and carry it in two hands.

"Drag it, if you must; we won't leave it here," Edge said shakily. "Now then, let's move out."

Red was standing by herself, weeping bitterly, and barley heard the order. Palom took her hand, as well as Sefi's hand, and led them both out the door. Edward followed them, dragging the sword behind him. Edge came at the end of the line, still cradling Exeline in his arms like a child who was merely sleeping. The ninja king gave the fainted dragon a contemptuous look and spat in his direction.

"No more disruptions, I hope," he said to Obsidian, even though the dragon couldn't hear. He turned back to Kenji, crushed under a boulder, and sighed heavily.

"FuSoYa protect," Edge whispered, and walked out of the room. If he could have closed the great copper door behind him, he would have; but he could tell it was too heavy just from looking at it.

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Komi was pacing on the deck of his airship, watching the sun dip lower and lower behind below the horizon. He was worrying more and more about his king and the other brave fighters with him. If they did not return, Komi would be forced to move out; and he of all people would not refuse an order form his king. But they were getting later and later. He could try to stall as long as he could, but...

"Hey! Komi!" someone shouted. The black belt looked up and, to his infinite joy, saw Edge and company running up to his ship. The next thing he noticed was that Edge carried Exeline asleep in his arms. Worried, he ran over to meet them.

"What happened? Is she alright? Did you slay the monster?" Komi asked.

"She'll be fine," Edge informed. "And, sadly, Obsidian isn't dead; merely unconscious."

"Where are your friends who Obsidian took? Were you... too late?"

"Right on time," Edward said, hauling the gold sword behind him. "Both were..." he trailed off, unable to finish.

"Killed in action, saving us," Edge finished.

"And the girl?"

"Had to knock her out just to get her out of the room. She should wake in another 20 minutes or so; but she'll probably go hysterical once she's awake again," Edge answered.

Komi nodded, having his fill of answers. "Get on board the ship; the pilot was a traveler from Troia, and knows how to fly."

"We have three people in our party who can fly as well, including me," Edge offered.

Komi shook his head. "You've been through so much, my lord. We would ask only that you rest on the way home. You have done plenty."

The ship took off five minutes later, leaving the black tower behind them. Red, who had finally managed to get herself together, fell apart and began to cry again; not so much as from despair for their friends anymore, but from gratitude to get away from the place, she said.

"I told you that you'd walk out again," Palom pointed out. "You always do."

"Try to sleep for a while, Red," Sefi suggested. "Think of something else for a while."

Red agreed and went off to find a room below deck, leaving Palom and Sefi alone on deck.

"You should rest, yourself," Palom said gently. "Today hasn't exactly been peppy for you either."

"Nor you," Sefi argued; she'd stay here with him as long as he was here.

For a minute, neither of them said anything but sat on the deck beside each other. Sefi looked up at him and was surprised to see a tear dripping down Palom's face.

"I didn't know him very well," the mage said in a trembling voice, "but I really liked Kenji; he was a good pal."

"We'll all miss him. He was a good person," Sefi answered, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

In response, Palom flung his arms around Sefi and hugged her so tight she couldn't breath. "At the very least, you and Red are okay," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "If anything happened to any of you girls, I don't know what I'd do."

"Palom, can you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"Tell me that you love me."

"I do."

"_Say it_."

"I love you; _so_ much. Don't let anything happen to you, 'kay."

"I won't. Promise."

He kissed her temple and held her closer, just barley giving her room to breath.

"Can I ask for one more thing?"

"Of course."

"Can you free my arms? I'd like to hug you back."

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Wahoo! I finally finished the chapter! After three months of putting my little spare time into it, I finally finished it!

It's Christmas again, and you know what _that _means: I'll be hanging around for two and a half weeks, mostly at my grandmother's house where I can't work on this, but I will probably start a story for a completely different genre. I'd really like to get to some stuff on my coming soon list on my profile. So, heads up.

By the way, even writing at odd intervals, this chapter drained me. I'm not good at love scenes or death scenes, so it takes me a while to get it all out of my head. Tell me how you feel about it all, because it's really the best I could do right away.

And now, to start a new chapter!


	10. Waging War

Last chapter for a while. I said that I would give you a chapter before Christmas break was over, and, by God, here it is. You know me; after a break, I disappear for a long time.

Now then, let's go back to Black Tower for a minute... The war is about to begin!

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Chapter 9: Waging War

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Obsidian opened one golden eye ever so slightly and let it adjust to the light. He opened the other eye and looked around at the black room. He lifted his head, feeling pain shoot through his neck like a bolt of lightening. He remembered the two knives lodged in his shoulder and slowly tilted his head to look. The blades had sunk in to the hilt, and blood had dripped down his shoulder and dried in streaks on his scales.

Painfully, he reached his other claw over to pull the blades out. Just touching one of the hilts sent flames careening up and down his arm, hand, and even into his upper back. He gave up trying to ease the blades from his flesh and seized the closest hilt. He ripped it out. The pain wasn't as great as before, but it was still great enough that he left out a roar of pain. He felt acidic hot tears come to his eyes but blinked them back; pain could sometimes jerk tears, but he refused to shed them for any reason.

The knowledge that he would have to do the same thing again hit him like a ton of bricks. He hesitated slightly, not wanting to feel the same discomfort twice in the same minute, but ripped it out as quickly as he could. He was tired, confused, in a lot of pain; he couldn't even remember what had happened before he fainted.

A large rock stood in the corner of his vision, one that he hadn't remembered being there before. He strained his eyes to see and realized that there was something beneath it.

It was a body.

Suddenly, everything came back to him: the rescue party, the freed ninjas, the attack by the invisible monsters which had left him pinned to the floor, the girl falling over the side and into the volcano, throwing the boulder at the prisoner and his apparent girlfriend, and...

Nothing. What had happened?

Well, apparently, the party had gotten out of the room; doubtless they had escaped the tower with the small percentage of the hoard that had been freed. And, from what he could tell from his still limited vision, it seemed that his dark skinned traitor-girl hadn't been killed by the boulder, for he could only see one body beneath it.

Stiffly, the bahamut rose up on his weak legs, his shoulder still blazing if not recovering quickly. He found that he could even move his head a little bit now. He flapped his wings, feeling all stiffness flaking off of them. His head felt foggy and blurry; how many days had he been asleep? And what time was it now, anyway?

He pushed himself up on his hind legs, sending harsh twinges into his shoulder, and began to shuffle towards the door. He clutched the wound, which had begun to bleed, as he struggled to the gaping bronze door. As he lumbered along, unaccustomed to walking on his back feet, he felt his breath begin to shorten, coming in quick, steaming puffs. He had so many questions; most of them dealing with where his erstwhile little brave hearts had gone off to.

_How long ago did they leave? How many ninjas left with them? How many airships did they take? So many rebel cities on this blasted planet; which one did they head for? Will those paladins be there? It was a mistake, letting those two live; what did I get: a party of thrill-seekers who beat me to a stand-still!_

_Well, at least I killed the hostages; not the way _I_ had in mind, but I did kill them and the others _did_ seem upset about it. Maybe it wasn't a total loss after all…_

_But still! What am I saying! A loss is a loss, and I've suffered a big one. Those humans will pay for this outrage, I swear!_

Slowly he climbed down the stairs to the floor below. When he arrived, he found most of the ninjas on that level passed out on the few pieces of furniture around; the rest of them were on the floor. Whether they were drunk or sleeping he wasn't sure. All that he knew was that they weren't supposed to be sleeping at this time of day.

"Wake up! All of you!" he thundered, and all the ninjas jumped awake, startled. When they saw who was addressing them, they all cringed.

"How many days has it been since they left here?" Obsidian demanded.

"Three days," one ninja stammered. "They left three days ago with almost three fourths of the ninjas in this quarter of the tower."

"You've got quite a head for numbers and such, young man," Obsidian observed, leaning his head closer to the speaker. The man backed against the wall, sweating bullets. "Do you fight well?"

"I—I do."

"Very well. That monk from Eblan was the leader of the upper quadrant for his wit and fighting skill; he has betrayed us. You're smart enough to use a sentence full of numbers, you're a good fighter: you're the new leader."

"I—I am?"

"Go get a medic to fix up my shoulder. When you're done, mobilize the other ninjas. We're all teleporting."

"Where to, sir?" the new leader asked.

"Do you know where the others went to?"

"From the tracers in the ships, they seem to be heading for Baron Castle."

"Very well. We're teleporting _there_."

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Every fighter in Baron and most of the known world was in Baron and the surrounding land. The citizens had remained in Mysidia after the ninjas had been fought back, and others had been relocated to out of the way places, such as Troia and Kaipo.

Every royal person stood inside the castle; most of them, at any rate: Edge, Edward, Red, and Sefi hadn't returned yet. Their absence was disturbing to those present, for their fates were uncertain and their skills in battle couldn't be utilized today.

While they were alone, planning the attack, Kain asked Cecil, "What makes you all so sure the attack is going to be today? You haven't felt any vibes or seen any visions yet."

"It's not a vibe this time," Cecil informed his friend. "This time, it's a raw instinct. We all just know. Obsidian can cloak his vibes, remember?"

Kain nodded, remembering what had happened when Obsidian first appeared. "I wish he'd just come, then. He won't kill me, the waiting will!"

Meanwhile, Angel was standing in the room at the top of a tower, looking out the window at the horizon for something; anything. A red dragon, an airship, an unexpected miracle of some kind.

The room she had found had proven to be a library. Other than several shelves of dusty books and an old chair of brown leather, (which she, herself, would have had red velvet) it was fairly empty. But the vantage point was excellent. And it was quiet, so far above everything else; quiet was something that she really needed right now.

Her paladin senses began to tingle and she caught a vibe nearby; it felt like a mix of worry, tension, and curiosity, so she guessed that someone must be ascending the stairs to the library, looking for her. In her own nervous state, she couldn't find a visual vibe at all.

The door opened and she turned to see who it was. Somehow, she wasn't so surprised to see Odin walk into the room. He blushed, slightly embarrassed to see that she alone.

"I, I was wondering where you went. You disappeared, and I wanted to know if you needed company."

Angel smiled tiredly, touched and amused. "That's nice of you, Odin, but I really need be alone for a while. I haven't had any solitude for several days, and I'm worried."

"About your sister, you mean?" Odin asked.

Angel nodded. "She's never gone so far away so suddenly. And never on such a dangerous mission either. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in days." As if on que, she yawned and rubbed her sore eyes.

"Not to put more pressure on you," Odin began, "but your father believes that Obsidian will attack today. A lot of people are scared to admit that he's right, but I think it would be foolish to think that he's wrong."

"Daddy's usually right about stuff," Angel agreed.

"I don't want to worsen your condition before the battle starts, but what are you going to do? You're hardly in shape to fight the bahamut," Odin pointed out.

Angel yawned again and said, "I'll pull through somehow. I've had worse, believe me."

Odin lowered his head, whether out of respect or embarrassment she couldn't say. "I want to believe that. I hope that you're right."

Someone called Odin's name from somewhere far away, a voice which Angel thought must be her mother's. The prince paused in the door, as if deciding whether to go or not. Angel couldn't read his mind, but it seemed like he had just made a decision to do something.

"Why don't you answer them?" she asked.

Odin took a deep breath, searching for a way to articulate what he had to say. "I... might not see you again, after I leave to go see who wants me," he explained slowly. "So I've made up my mind to do something quite insane."

"You're not going to jump out the window, are you?"

"No, more insane than that," Odin corrected.

Angel peered out the window and down to the ground. The drop was pretty far; the sight was slightly nauseating and made her head spin. What could he possibly be planning to do?

When she looked back up she found that Odin had come to stand beside her while she wasn't paying attention.

"What are going to do, that's crazier than jumping out of a 26 story tower?" she asked, thinking that she might have already guessed what he had in mind.

He took a step toward her so that there was hardly any space left between them. He blushed again and said, "I admit, I was confused and angry with everyone, including you, when I found out that my family had plotted to engage me to someone behind my back. But I'll also admit that, in the past few days, I've grown very fond of you."

Now Angel blushed, turning her head shyly away. All her senses had melted; she knew not what might be ahead of her now, though the feeling that she knew what _would_ happen was growing stronger every second.

Odin put his hand to her face and directed her gaze back to him. He continued, "You're a good person. You're smart and brave, you're kind and funny, you have all the qualities of a leader. You're an amazing person."

"Would you be here saying these things even if I wasn't so pretty?" Angel asked.

"I don't look for beauty," Odin informed. "I look for a leader."

Angel looked away again, her face burning brighter every second. She'd never felt this pleasantly awkward before.

"I realized something when we escaped from Mysidia's tower."

"What did you realize?" Angel still didn't look up.

Prepared as she was for it, she felt her heart leap when Odin drew her closer and kissed her on the cheek.

"I realized how much I love you."

Angel looked back up, feeling somehow invigorated.

"I think I've just realized the same thing about you," she answered, feeling a bit dizzy. Even though her head was spinning, it felt like her tiredness was filling up just by being held by him.

Once again, though she had braced herself for it, she thought her heart had jumped into her mouth when he kissed her.

_I called it; I knew this was coming. _

Someone shouted for Odin again, ending their romantic interlude abruptly. He hugged her and reluctantly released her with a rueful smirk.

"I told you it was more insane than jumping out the window."

Angel nodded. "It was; but I'm glad you made that choice. It was a revelation that I need to make."

"So, our parents have their answer?"

"Yes. Definitely."

22222222222

Rosa tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, wondering where Odin could be. She had called to him five times and he still hadn't come. She had taken everyone's advice and not bothered to call for Angel ("Leave her for a while," they had urged), but she needed Odin; now.

Alara sighed behind her. "He'll be along shortly," she said impatiently. "Now tell us about the vibe you claim to have found."

Rosa turned back to her audience, comprised of all but two of the royals and a few soldiers. Their gazes were all fixed excitedly upon her, waiting for her to explain herself. She nodded to the other white mage, knowing that she was right.

"I've found our first real vibe," she announced. "A red blur and a bunch of ninjas, the ninjas much clearer, are mobilizing. I can even hear some of them, saying things about teleporting here. They still look a mess, so I suspect they won't be due here for some time yet, if they're teleporting."

"But Obsidian cloaks his vibes from our senses," Cecil pointed out. "How did you see this?"

"He might be weaker than when we last saw him," Rosa suggested. "If he's been weakened, that could lower his ability to put up a good cloaking spell."

"Some of us disappeared and went after him," Rydia noted. "Do you think they had anything to do with his weakening?"

"Perhaps," Porom answered dryly from a corner, still angry with her brother. "Rosa, did you catch any vibes about our families? Do you know if they're alright?" she asked.

"I've been looking for them, but I can't find them anywhere. It's quite possible they've cloaked themselves somehow, to keep Obsidian from finding them," Rosa answered with a shrug.

Despite how mad she was, Porom looked worried.

"Don't worry, Porom," Rosa said, reading her mind. "If they were dead, I _would _know it."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Odin burst through the door, out of breath, and skidded to a halt.

"Sorry I'm late," he panted.

"Where have you been? We waited for you for twenty minutes," Yang asked.

"I'm sorry," Odin apologized again. "This castle is very big and unfamiliar to me."

"Well, long story short, Rosa's found a vibe about Obsidian," Rydia informed. "She say's they're teleporting here sometime very soon."

"And news of our guys? And the two he took?"

"No news yet," Rosa answered, shaking her head.

"So what do we plan to do when He gets here?" Odin asked, pushing his immediate disappointment out of the way.

"Let's talk about that," Cecil suggested.

22222222222

Angel was still looking out the window in the library, watching for something on the horizon. She had to admit that, since Odin had showed up, she had begun to feel a lot better. She was in love; it felt wonderful!

Her fingers tingled and her vision suddenly went fuzzy, and a picture swept across her eyes. Instead of the scene outside the window, which faced east onto the coast, she saw one of the castle walls; it faced south, onto the one desert in the kingdom. As the scene cleared and the tingling stopped, Angel shook her head to clear it.

The vibes she'd seen had never been wrong before. She decided not to ignore this one and left the library, turning her feet toward the southern wall.

_I hope that everything will be okay…_

When she arrived at the wall about 20 minutes later, nothing was happening. All the guards were standing at attention, even though there was nothing there. They all gasped when they heard footsteps and turned to see their captain. Recovering from their initial surprise, they all nodded respectfully to her.

"What brings you here?" one guard asked.

"I've had a vibe; it told me to come over here," Angel answered.

"Nothing has happened here," the guard told her.

"Let's wait a bit," Angel suggested. "If anything happens, hold your ground, no matter what."

They waited there for a long time; perhaps an hour. The landscape remained devoid of anything unusual or suspect. Angel began to wonder if her vibes were failing her for the first time. She also wondered what her friends and family were up to, in whichever part of the castle or the world.

_Perhaps I should go find the others and see what they're doing,_ she thought.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, the far-off desert seemed to explode, the sand flying up like something big and heavy had fallen on it. The guards automatically reached for their weapons and Angel stood ridged, trying to send her parents a vibe of her own. The sand began to settle, falling to earth once again; as it fell it revealed a huge red dragon with eyes like the sun. Even from the distance, Angel could tell that he could see her, and was grinning evilly at her. The dust finally cleared away, and now she could see an army of yellow-clad ninjas bearing all kinds of sharp, pointy weapons at Obsidian's feet.

The guards shivered around her, most of them probably feeling faint and fighting strong urges to flee for their lives.

"Are any of you ready to fight this monster?" Angel asked. She turned to look at her men, who all stood dumbfounded behind her.

"Come on, tell me. It's alright if you say no," Angel assured them. "_I'm_ not ready to fight him, really."

"Will you fight him anyway?" one guard asked.

Angel bowed her head, feeling more unprepared than she ever had before.

"I will. There is no other option for me."

The guards around her murmured agreement, seeming calmer now.

"You will not fight or die alone, Captain," another guard said steadily. "Baron's army is behind you."

Once again, Angel's spirit lifted. Though she still felt like running away, she raised her head back up and drew her sword.

"Go find my parents and tell them that another war has begun."

22222222222

Another day, another war. But that's just life, now isn't it?

I'm sorry this one took me so long. I was away for most of the break, and then school started, and then I got a five-day weekend. Sweetness! Yesterday and today are teacher workdays, then the regular weekend, and then Monday is Martin Luther King Junior Day, so I've had plenty of time to catch up on this chapter. It's like this every January, so I don't really think that the second semester really starts until February.

I'm sure that the love scene was icky. If you have any suggestions for bettering it, please let me know. I have to admit, the love scenes from the last chapter were probably the best I've ever done…

And so, off I go to write the next chapter! As you know, it will probably take most of the next nine-week grading period to write, so bear with me.

Frieda


	11. Obsidian's Stand

Wow! I finished this chapter way sooner than I anticipated! Yay for me!

(pops some more champagne, and watches her salamander-lackey spin around like the drunken fool she's becoming)

But let's find out where our airships party is right now. They're needed badly!

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Chapter 10: Obsidian's Stand

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Exeline wouldn't leave her room. She was too filled with despair. From where he was sitting, on the edge of her bed, she could just see out of the door way and onto the deck. Palom, Red, Sefi, and Edge were in her line of sight, talking with each other about something. Even after several days of air travel, the kids were still quite shaken from their adventure in the Black Tower, and Edge had been trying to make them feel better. Exeline envied Sefi and Red both, Red for still having her father with her and Sefi for her newfound romance with Palom. The other girls in the party had come out alive, and their men had come out with them, and for all these things, Exeline felt horribly lonely and heavy with melancholy.

But more than any of that, she was mad. She was so mad she felt like she could explode. The princess of Fabul had drowned in a lava filled volcano, right when she had started becoming a good person. And her love was dead, crushed beneath a boulder in a cold, foreboding tower at the top of the world. And the fault was with Obsidian, the Red Bahamut.

He would pay dearly for the casualties he had caused, whether in the tower, in the desert, or on the moon, light-years away. She _would_ avenge the blood he had spilled, even if she had to do it alone (though she doubted that it would come to this).

She recovered from her latest wave of misery, anger, and envy and regarded the group outside her door. Even before they left the tower, both the girls had developed a rather touching habit of almost clinging to Palom, who was a constant guardian to them. To Red, he was the big brother that she had never had; to Sefi, he was all that Kenji had been. She prayed as hard as could that the girls would never have to be separated from him, nor him from them.

Edge turned to leave the three kids alone, bumped into someone that she couldn't see, and made a quick greeting before going on his way. For the first time, Exeline noticed that a slick gray racing stripe now ran through Edge's colorless hair. She shuddered, remembering that everyone, even the fearless ninja who had faced Zeromus on the moon, got scared sometimes.

_I wonder if he's ever dyed his hair to keep it so white…_

Edge moved out of her line of sight and was replaced by Edward, who had doubtless come to check on his rattled daughter. He stopped to ask how the three were doing, knelt to give Red a kiss, and rose again, turning toward Exeline's door. The ninja was surprised to see he king coming toward her, but received him as warmly as her gloom would allow.

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked when he was inside the room.

Exeline sighed, afraid that if she started talking she would begin to cry again. "I feel… empty," was all that she could say.

Edward sat down on the bed beside her and put his arm comfortingly around her shoulder. "I know how you feel," he confessed. "Before the War of the Blue Planet, I had a girlfriend named Anna. When the first attacks began and Golbez appeared, he sent Baron's fleet of airships to take Damcyan's fire crystal. Anna was with me, in the castle, hiding from her angry father. When the airships arrived, they completely destroyed the castle. Many people near and dear to me were killed in that attack; my mother and father, my best friend, my older brother. Even Anna."

Exeline felt a surge of sympathy course through her body. "That's terrible!"

"I know. I thought that I might kill myself, I was so hysterical. I loved her so deeply. I didn't think I could possibly go on without her."

"I feel the same way… How did you pull though it?"

"Cecil and Rydia showed up right after the attack and knocked some sense into me. If not for them, I just might be dead. Once they got me involved in the fight, I found my feet quickly. There wasn't time to sit around and mourn for the dead."

"You can't just leave them like that though," Exeline protested.

"The dead have their time; sometimes it isn't right away," Edward explained.

Exeline gazed out the door at Red, still cowering against Palom on the deck. "If you loved Anna so much, how were you able to love again?"

"Love can jump out at you in the strangest places. Anna told me, in a vision, to love and care for others as I had her, so I did. And then I was on a ship that got wrecked. Alara, my wife, rescued me and nursed me back to health. I fell in love with her… She was my best friend."

"Do you think Anna minds that? Wherever she is?"

"I get the feeling she doesn't mind."

"Hmm… I don't think I can do the same as you did."

"The ones you love never leave you if you think about them often," Edward assured her. Then he animated. "That reminds me: while we were in the tower, Kenji had said to take his sword with us."

Exeline glanced down at Edward's belt and saw a familiar wooden hilt in a black scabbard. Her eyes widened.

"You have Kenji's sword, Tiamat's Claw!"

"I can barely carry it, and no one else knows what to do with it," Edward explained, removing the scabbard from his belt. "We all agreed that you should take it."

Exeline took the blade eagerly and held it in her hands reverently. Her eyes grew wider and glazed with tears once more.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked.

"I'm thinking that I will not rest until I have rent this sword through that monster's heart. I _will_ avenge all those that he has killed, from Gems, his own sister, to my Kenji."

22222222222

Little Aron found himself, once again, being shoved into a closet by his mother and being told not to move from that spot until someone came for him.

"What if you don't come back? Do you want me to come rescue you like papa would?" Aron asked his mother as she was turning to go.

Rydia peered back through the coats in the closet at her son, not sure what to tell him.

"If I don't come back for you, I want you to run away from here, as fast as you can. Run to the cave Northwest of here and stay there until a summon comes for you."

"…….Okay, mama."

The summoner knelt to hug her child one last time. "Now be a good boy and _don't move_, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

A loud battle cry rose up outside, making every stone in the castle rattle. A few members of the staff skittered around, whimpering or shouting orders to each other. Aron clung to his mother, wishing that she didn't have to leave him hiding again… in a closet, besides.

"Someone _will_ come for you, I promise," Rydia assured him, running her fingers through his dusty gray hair.

_Only the child of a natural-green and a natural-white could be a natural-gray,_ she thought lovingly, holding her son closer.

"Don't leave me here, mama," Aron begged.

"Mama _has_ to go. You don't want that red dragon to take over the Blue Planet, do you?"

Aron shook his head. "No."

"Go on back in the closet, son. You'll be safe in there," Rydia directed.

Surprisingly, Aron complied with her very willingly. Placidly, tamely, he walked back into the forest of coats.

"You can close the door, mama. I won't leave."

Rydia painfully closed the door, but did it quickly before Aron could the tear that slipped down her face. She said a quick prayer for her only child's safety and hurried to see where she needed to be and what she needed to do.

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The King of Baron had done many things; he had attacked innocent people and stolen their most precious possession; he had destroyed a town; he had saved a little girl _and_ his girlfriend; within a few hours of each other, he had lost them both. He had turned from the ways of darkness and become a warrior of light; he had rescued his girlfriend again and soon thereafter rediscovered the little girl, now a woman; he flew into space and landed on the moon; he had fought off the evil thing that was Zeromus, which had intended on razing the Blue Planet. Here he was, many years later, an accomplished and wise king with a huge army, the only airship fleet of it's kind in the world, a smart and beautiful wife, and two amazing (if not slightly odd) daughters.

Indeed, there was no reason that Cecil Harvey had to be afraid of anything. But as he stood on a balcony of his castle, looking out over the land at the larger army of yellow-clad ninjas and the terrifying Red Bahamut that led them, he shook.

"Daddy," his older daughter whispered beside him. "Remember when the sharks attacked Mysidia?"

"Yes, I do," Cecil answered, trying not to let his voice waver for her.

"This is about a zillion times worse."

Cecil swallowed hard. "Try not to compare big problems like this to trifles like power-hungry sharks," he advised.

Angel turned to her father, as distraught as a girl could be. "What are we going to do about them? Even with all our armies, they fight too fiercely and there are so many of them. Plus the bahamut to consider. Is there any chance that we can live the day?"

Cecil gazed down at Angel and looked right into her sky blue eyes, borrowed from him while she was in her mother's womb. He held her gaze for a long moment, fierce and reassuring at the same time.

"We are paladins. We do not give in to despair," he told her as bravely as he could, even though he himself felt like he would melt and seep through the stones of the balcony.

Angel nodded her head weakly.

"Yes sir."

22222222222

Obsidian contemplated his foes, gathered in, on, and around Baron's castle. The city faced away from the desert, leaving the massive backside of the stone castle to take whatever bombardment the desert might throw at it. A good portion of the wall was still missing from his first appearance, more than a week ago.

He smiled slightly, pleased by the outlook of this battle. With one fell swoop, he could take out an entire 18th of this pitiful combined force; an 18th wasn't a large fraction, but it was still well over 2000 people at once. And as for the ninjas, they were fast and capable with their weapons, as well as unburdened by heavy armor and unwieldy swords. Some could use magic, both white _and_ black; many were red mages. True, the strength and holy power of the paladins might stop him, he was willing to admit that; but there were only two left of the 23 there had been. He knew the exact number: he had counted it a million times as he hunted them down.

_What can these last do to me? A legendary king and his little daughter, dieing together in an epic battle against an unbeatable foe. What a sweet little bedtime story._

A growl of pleasure resonated in his throat, elevating quickly elevating to a rumble like thunder that he knew even the opposing army could hear. He could feel them shaking in their boots. He even swore he could hear a stifled cry of terror from the paladin girl, as she realized what the sound was.

He unfurled his great red wings and rose back on his hind legs, springing into the sky.

"Attack!" he roared, leading the charge.

The army of humans waited tensely and hopelessly…

22222222222

Rydia hurried toward the back of the castle, already summoning Shiva for aid. She could hear another battle cry, and another violent shaking of the stones beneath her feet. The vibrating didn't stop; it only increased, as did the noise.

The army was charging.

_I've got to get there, now! If I can't get this summon to them…_

She ran faster, rounding a turn and seeing a pair of big wooden door at the end of the hall.

_That's the door! At last!_

The floor was shaking so violently that she was afraid she might lose her balance and fall down. She couldn't afford to fall; if she was any later than she already was, she might not make it in time. She kept chanting the summoning for the ice woman. It wouldn't be long before Shiva arrived now, and Rydia had to be on the balcony to aim her summoned monster at the bahamut.

She finally reached the doors and flung them open, aware that she probably hit people, but not losing track of her chant. She moved to the front, finding herself comfortingly close to Cecil. She wanted to talk to him so badly; she wanted to hug him and not let go. But she kept her head and didn't falter in her chant.

The next thing she noticed was that Obsidian was flying directly at them, clearly intent on the paladins beside her. He was coming closer and closer…

_He's about to get a face full of Shiva,_ she thought, an idea that she found quite cheery.

The summons was finished. The final words left her lips. The air around her and everyone lese chilled suddenly and a tingling breeze picked up. Still Obsidian flew closer, seemingly unaware of the imminent danger that was coming. Cecil leaned over to say something to Rydia.

"Shiva?" he guessed.

Rydia nodded. "Shiva," she agreed.

The air rippled, like a heat-wave. An icy figure, clad in blue, silver, and white materialized before the balcony, floating in midair. Ice blue locks blew in an invisible wind, and, even though no one could see her face, everyone knew her expression was of conviction and harsh determination, almost business like.

She clapped her hands together and a long, silvery lance appeared in her hands; a second look revealed that it was really a thick, long icicle. She turned back to look at her caller, her dark blue eyes glistening intensely. A dark smile graced her mouth and she turned to face the dragon.

Shiva's appearance was so sudden that Obsidian didn't seem to notice until she was already there. He pulled to a halt that was so sudden that he just barely caught himself before plummeting the 30 stories to the ground. A look of utter surprise and mild shock came across his face.

"Where did you—"

"Shh," Shiva said, demurely raising a finger to her lips. "Don't talk. Just fight." She aimed her icicle-lance at Obsidian and spoke a loud, chilling word. A bolt of ice shot from the lance and flung itself upon the monster. The beam of ice didn't just hit him; it caressed him, winding around his body like a vine of ivy, clinging to every contour of his body.

Obsidian roared in pain and something that wasn't quite fear. He struggled to keep himself airborne. He swiped at Shiva's glossy form, raking his claws across her middle. Her form parted in two, as if she had been nothing more than an illusion of smoke. She evaporated, fading into the air. Obsidian flew away to collect himself.

Rydia smiled proudly. She loved the way Shiva worked, almost as if she were trying to flirt and destroy a monster at the same

time.

Meanwhile, Obsidian had flown back over his army, flying close to the sand of the desert to melt the ice that clung to his scales.

_I can't believe I forgot about that infernal green-haired summoner,_ he thought grumpily. _That's the same wench who summoned my brother. If she summons another monster like that ice-woman (or, God forbid, Akstaron), I'll really have problems. Good thing she's right next to the paladins: I can kill all three at the same time._

As soon as the ice melted and his body had thawed, he took to the sky once more, headed back to the balcony.

While all of this was taking place, the ninjas were battling the army on the ground below. Apparently, the others had all chosen to do whatever Yang and Odin said, because they probably knew the most about the foe they were facing. Both the monks had to agree that it felt pretty darn good to be punching and kicking the daylights out of every yellow thing that moved. Take over the Blue Planet, will ya? Take this! And that! And some of these! And one of those…

"Never forget," Yang advised his son between breaths, "Don't ever let your want for revenge become your only focus. These people must be stopped, but do not let yourself feel nothing but hate for them." (chop, bang, clomp)

Odin couldn't really believe what his father had just said. "But I'm so angry!" (punch, kick)

"Never forget what happened to Tellah, the sage, who died fighting for revenge. His hatred consumed him, and thus he died before he even saw Golbez at all. He sacrificed himself for nothing. Don't make the same mistake yourself, my son." (thumpity, karate-chop)

Odin still didn't understand, and was too busy fighting off ninjas to mull it over, but agreed, "Yes, father. I'll try. Do you think the others, up on the balcony, will have any more trouble from Obsidian? He flew off screeching in pain a few minutes ago." (smack, hit, bam)

Yang grinned ruefully. "Rydia probably cast a spell or summoned a monster to beat him off. So long as she's still got some pep and can keep summoning, we should stand somewhat of a chance against him." (hit, kick, chop)

"Ah. Good." (thump)

"You are worried about something; I can feel it. Keep your attention on your opponent, or he will get the better of you," Yang advised, bringing his hand down on the head of another ninja.

"I'm trying, father, but my worry is so great; it almost weighs me down," Odin explained, his breath shortening.

"Worry for a friend up on the balcony, perhaps?"

"Yes…" (slam, bam, smack)

"For a certain paladin, perhaps?"

"How did you know?" Odin demanded, slamming his foot as hard as he could into a ninja's stomach.

"I'm your father; I know everything."

"As soon as this war is over, we want to be married as soon as possible," Odin said, trying to get the whole declaration out in a single precious breath.

Yang vented his surprise and utter joy into another punch to a ninja's head. "When did this happen? Your sister said that you were both horrified by the proposal."

"Feelings change, father." (hit, kick)

"I'm glad that you came to a truce; you almost seemed to resent each other before."

"Look out!" Odin cried and punched a ninja who was trying to sneak up on Yang.

"Thanks, son."

"No problem, father."

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Angel wished sorely that Holy didn't work primarily on the undead. It was her best offensive spell, but it was completely useless against these vibrant, living ninjas. If Obsidian could come close enough, she and her father might be able to deal him a good bit of damage; such an evil thing would surely suffer a great deal of damage from several well-placed Holy spell. But he was keeping his distance, staying out of the range of any summoned monster or spell someone might call upon for defense.

_He's healed remarkably from Shiva's spell,_ she thought. _Of course it did damage, but only a small amount. If that ice had stuck a little longer, it would have done more. It's too bad his wings were moving too much for the ice to stick to them; that would have grounded him for sure. The thin, hollow bones of a dragon's wings would have become brittle and probably would have broken. He'd have been grounded! Now he's too far away for Shiva to hurt him much if she were here._

"Is there anything we can do to him from this distance?" she asked Cecil.

The king shook his head. "I don't think so. None of us can project a spell that far. And summoned monsters are only meant to cast a fairly close-range spell and disappear; they're not meant for chasing after a monster."

"I wish that we had the dwarves with us right now. They should have been here a week ago."

"It takes time to get to our part of the over-world from where they are."

"Some miracle had better appear soon; we can't win this battle alone."

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I became _really_ poetic with this chapter, I think. I'm not sure why; personally, I thought it was a good tension builder.

Also, what do you guys think of the comic book sound effects when Odin and Yang are hitting things? It's a new idea that I was experimenting with, and if you like it, I might do it more often.

Well, things are about to start wrapping up. _This_ time, I'll probably disappear for several weeks before re-emerging from my den-or-wherever-it-is-I-go with a new chapter.

Once again…

(spins around really fast and transforms into a superhero, who's costume is manly pencil-themed)

Freedom to Write, AWAAAAY!!

(flies the 30 feet back to her computer and starts typing in a maniacal fashion)


	12. Help in Unexpected Places

No news today

No comments today. Just read the chapter and prepare yourselves!

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Chapter 11: Help in Unexpected Places

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Almost a whole day of bombardment from Obsidian and his minions had passed, and things were going very badly for the paladins and all their friends.

Once Obsidian finally came close enough to attack, the two paladins and the summoner were able to deal the monster quite a bit of damage by spells and summoned monster. It was where they had begun to tire that they had begun to have problems. Rydia was running out of MP, and being forced to use smaller-scale spells, regressing from –Ga leveled magic to –Ra leveled magic, and finally to basic spells. And when she didn't have enough MP to summon anyone, it was clear that their problems were about to get worse.

As for Cecil and Angel, They were losing the strength to lift their swords after so long. Holy had been doing _some _damage, which was something, at least, but they were losing MP quickly as well. Soon, they couldn't even cast status spells or heal spells, and then Obsidian unloosed a magic of his own on top of them.

It was like a swarm of broken glass fragment blowing all around them, cutting them to pieces. It was quite obvious that they would have to go back inside, all three of them, and regain their strength. But before they could get inside, the dragon unleashed a blaze of flame over them, trapping them in a ring of 500 degree heat less than five feet from the door, singeing their hair and clothes. Rydia pulled the last of her MP together and summoned the last monster she had in her arsenal:

"Akstaron! We need you!" she practically screamed through the blaze of fire.

Fortunately, the dragon didn't take long to materialize. He came careening around the side of the castle, ready for anything. The slinky, midnight blue bahamut hesitated only for only a moment when he saw his brother once more. Obsidian hesitated too, not sure of where Akstaron had come from (surely, the summoner had run out of MP long ago). They both shook themselves and launched at each other, giving the humans enough time to slip back inside safely.

Once everyone left was inside the wooden doors, Cecil slammed the doors shut and leaned against them heavily, the last of his strength gone.

"This is futile," Angel moaned behind him, leaning against the wall and then sinking to the floor, exhausted. "The dwarves haven't come; our friends and family have abandoned us at the top of the world. We'll all die here, under Obsidian and his yellow ninjas."

Cecil turned to face his daughter, not remembering a time she had looked so weary and ready to give up. It almost made his heart break apart.

"I didn't know you could talk like that," he said quietly, trying to raise her morale. "It's not like you to despair."

"Why shouldn't I despair?" Angel demanded. "We're going to die, hopelessly outnumbered; why shouldn't I despair? Tell me!!" She sounded ready to cry; Cecil didn't blame her. He felt like crying too.

"If we're going to die, at least we've fought as hard as we could," mused Rydia. "I only hope the others are alright…"

Another rumble shook the castle. Oddly, it wasn't as strong as the ones before. And the white mages were all stiff with a vision. Everyone else hoped that it was a good vision; maybe of someone coming to help.

"What did you see?" Rydia asked once they had come out of their trance.

"Good news," Cecil said with a sigh of relief. "The dwarves are on their way. They're coming through the Mist cave; they'll be here shortly.

"I didn't see that," Angel said, managing a hopeful smile. "Everyone who went on the airship, they're returning! And they've got a fleet of ninja ships with them!"

"Ninjas?" One guard scoffed. "I thought they wanted to kill us."

"Perhaps they've been turned to our side," Rosa suggested. "Either way, they're alive, thank God, and they're bringing reinforcements. Perhaps we can still find pull something together and beat Obsidian."

"How long until they're back?" Rydia asked.

"Perhaps and hour," said Angel. "They were still over the water, but they could see land."

"Until then," Cecil advised, "We should find potions and phoenix downs and get our strength back. With the dwarves, our wayward friends, and a fleet of rogue ninjas, we can at least tire the monster out."

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Sefi stood blinking, braced against the mast of the airship, trying to figure out what had just happened. Her vision had suddenly blurred and she began seeing double. She felt like she had had two brains in her head at once, seeing the same thing: a stretch of water, growing smaller and smaller, to be replaced with an enlarging shoreline. It remained this way for several minutes until, as suddenly as it had started, her vision cleared. She also felt very weak, as if she had been battling a tough monster for a while.

_What happened? What was that?_ She wondered. Her head was spinning, and she could hear someone running toward her; she guessed it was either Red or Palom. It was both of them.

"Sefi? Are you alright?" Red asked, pushing a potion into her hand. "You don't look so good."

"I don't know what happened," Sefi mumbled, still dizzy as she opened the bottle in her hand. "It felt like someone was sharing my head; like someone was looking through my eyes." She carefully brought the bottle to her lips and drank the tangy contents slowly. At last, her head stopped spinning.

"It sounds like you and Angel may have sight-swapped," Palom guessed, helping Sefi find her feet again. "Angel may have just had a vibe, and it was showing her what you were seeing. You're her twin, after all; it would make sense. Porom used to sight-swap with me all the time."

"If Angel saw what I was seeing, then she knows that we're coming home. I hope they don't need us too badly."

"The ninjas all seem nervous. Some of them are saying that Obsidian has already attacked Baron. If that's true, our families might appreciate our help right now," Red informed.

"If that's the case, we should tell everyone to mobilize and prepare for battle. If they're battling Obsidian, we need to be ready to rock 'n roll," Palom said firmly, and stalked off to find Edge.

_He sounds like a war general,_ Sefi thought with a smile. _He's so cute when he gets like that…_

Red animated, as if she had just remembered something important. "I forgot to tell you something," she said excitedly to Sefi.

"What is it?"

"The day that we left the tower, one of the ships landed on a tiny archipelago, remember?"

"Oh yeah. We thought that the ship had malfunctioned or something. Did you find out what happened?"

"They found a castaway. They landed to pick him up."

"A castaway? All the way out there? What on earth was he doing there?"

"He claims that it was a teleport spell gone wrong, nearly three years ago."

"Who is he?"

"Edge and Daddy went to go ask him a while ago. They should be back soon."

"Teleport spell gone wrong, eh?" Sefi mused. "Think he's a mage? If he is, he can help us out."

"We don't know. But we will before we get back to Baron," Red assured.

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The tremors of the castle were getting steadily progressive, shaking stones and mortar loose from the walls. On any other day, this would have instilled panic in everyone; today it meant a miracle: the dwarves were on their way, in their heavily armored tanks, just as Giott had promised.

"They'll make it in time," Rosa breathed, sounding as if she were trying to reassure herself.

"Giott has never let us down before," Cecil reminded. "He won't fail us now."

"He'd better not," Angel remarked. "I'm daring to hope a little bit here…"

A loud bang sounded, not far off, but not hitting the castle. A loud cry of surprise, confusion, and maybe terror rose up outside.

"That was a shot from a dwarven tank!" Rydia exclaimed, letting out a sigh of utter relief. "I thought they'd never come."

"Should we go back to the battle now?" asked Angel.

"Not yet. Let's rest a bit more, while the dwarves do some damage, and while the other ninja army shows up," Cecil advised. "Perhaps, we'll have recovered enough to hold weapons and cast spells."

Everyone agreed.

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As the king, Giott commanded and drove the best tank in the dwarven fleet. Dwarves love to fight hard; as he fired into the army of ninjas he let out a whoop of pleasure. He liked justice a lot, and loved to dispense it wherever possible.

"Watch, Luca," he said to his battle-trained niece beside him. "This is how a _real_ dwarven warrior does it!" He fired again at the ninjas, clearing them out of the way for the parade of tanks behind his own.

"Very impressive, uncle," Luca agreed coolly, not really interested at all. She cared not for battles and fighting; she was far more interested in her position as princess, and future queen. To Luca, nothing was more important than looks, and it showed even through her low-cut, tight-fitting military uniform.

"Get your mind out of your wardrobe and onto the battle field," Giott commanded his niece, not taking his eyes off the battle field. "If you don't know how to fight, you're nothing."

Luca rolled her eyes and directed her gaze back to the tank's control board, pretending to pay attention. She wondered if, perhaps, she would find Palom after the battle. She wondered vaguely if he was still alive at this point. She also wondered what might happen if she found Porom first (if there was one person she really feared, it was Porom and her painful staff blows).

"When will this battle be over, uncle?" Luca whined.

"Oh, soon enough, my dear…" Giott mumbled, his full attention on how many yellow ninjas he was blowing away. "We'll be through here soon enough…"

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Palom's jaw had dropped so hard that everyone thought it would fall off his face. Quite frankly, no one blamed him: the identity of the castaway had shocked them all.

"The Elder's been missing for over three years!" the black mage exclaimed. "He vanished when the sharks attacked Mysidia; after Mammoth, the crazy shark king, was killed, we never saw another trace of him; we always thought the sharks had got him."

"Not so," Edge informed, shaking his head. "He's been alive, and miraculously surviving, on the archipelago near the tower."

"You see," Edward explained, "He told us that Mammoth had, in fact, tried to eat him. So he cast a teleport spell."

Palom cocked his head slightly. "He teleported to the top of the world??"

"No, no, no, he didn't know what he was doing," Edward corrected. "He panicked and teleported to, quite literally, to anywhere but where he was. So that's where he wound up."

"And then that one ship at the back of the fleet saw a flare that he sent up. They landed and picked him up. Aren't you surprised?" Edge said with a grin.

Palom was speechless… mostly.

"I want to go see him right now," he said quickly and started off to find a white mage to teleport him to his long-lost teacher. Edge grabbed hold of his arm before he could get very far.

"Slow down there, tiger," said the ninja. "You can see him when we land; we're only 15 minutes away from the shoreline. I can almost see the bahamut from here."

"That's true," Sefi chimed in from near by. "We'll need you in the front."

"But I—"

"She's right; you're one of the best mages in the fleet," Edge agreed. "You're staying here, with us. _That's an order_, understand?" he added when Palom tried to yank away.

"You'll all do fine without me," the mage insisted. "It's not like I'm leading or anything."

"Would you like to?"

Palom quieted, intrigued by the ninja's offer.

"Come on, son," Edge said in a practical tone. "You're a natural leader. I've watched you, and heard about what you've done before. You're good at it; I'm willing to let you give it a try."

"Are you serious?" Palom's eyes were wide with interest, but he was torn between staying and leaving.

"You have to stay," Red begged. "We can't do this with you gone."

Palom nodded. "I guess I have little choice, huh? I'll stay then."

Exeline had watched all of this from her doorway. Pleased with the situation, she gripped the hilt of her sword until her knuckles turned white.

_Vengeance, hurry to me. I will not be at rest until Tiamat's Claw lays buried in the monster's soft heart. I swear it, on this precious ring._ She looked down lovingly at the engagement ring, still on her left ring-finger.

_I'm going to enjoy this._

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This could be my last update until summer; grades come out tomorrow, you know?

So, only two more chapters to go, I think. It will definitely be wrapping up very soon. I'm so excited! But at the same time, I feel kinda sad. I've worked so hard; I've had so much fun.

Well, let's get to it, already! R&R!!


	13. Another End to Another War

No news today

Are we excited yet? I know that AngelWings 008 sure is!! Let's go!

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Chapter 12: Another End to Another War

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Angel watched with morbid fascination as the dwarven tanks blew whole chunks of the massive yellow army out of their way. The ninjas barely had enough time to try to scratch the tanks before they got blown to bits under the heavy fire.

"There won't hardly be anything for the others to kill when they get here," Angel mumbled happily.

"Use proper grammar," Rosa scolded, knocking back an elixir. Porom stood inside the balcony door, fidgeting.

"I hope they all come back…"

"I'm sure they will," Rydia mentioned quietly, wondering how Aron was faring in his closet several floors below.

"I can't remember a time Palom's been so far away for so long," Porom babbled. "It's strange, not having him here; like a piece of me is missing. Have you ever felt that way?"

Rydia thought for a moment: she had lived a long life in a short amount of time, and could remember numerous times like that.

"The days after my mother died were the hardest," she remembered. "I've never known such loneliness in my life; I doubt that I will again."

"What about Edge? Don't you miss him?" Porom asked.

"I don't miss him," Rydia informed calmly. "I'm too busy worrying about him most of the time to realize that I miss him at all." A cry of shock and terror interrupted the conversation. It sounded like Angel.

"I've been so busy and exhausted that I forgot about Odin!" the princess cried. "I have no idea where he is now!"

Porom hurried over to her fellow white mage to make suggestions. "Chill out and search for a vibe."

Angel nodded woodenly and went still, her eyes glassy and frozen. She finally found a vibe that somehow felt like a Fabulian to her and followed it; if it didn't turn out to be Odin, it was probably Yang and his son shouldn't be too far away. The vibe did in fact lead back to the prince, who was still very much alive if not coming toward the end of his strength. It was all that she really needed to know: Odin was alive, albeit weakening. But between the dwarven tanks and the incoming airships (the first of which was just coming into sight), he would be fighting much long—

Wait a minute… 0.0!

Porom and Rosa had seen it too. The airships had arrived at last! Angel snapped out of her vision and looked toward the first ship, utterly overjoyed. Behind it, two, then eight, then 20, then a whole cloud of airships appeared.

"Thank God, they're here at last!" Porom whooped; had she been any less dignified and any more relieved, she would have jumped in the air. Rosa looked around quickly, wondering where her husband had gone.

"I have to go find Cecil and let him know," she said and ran off to find him.

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Up in the air, Palom was shouting orders to all the fighters on board his vessel. All black mages to the right railing; all archers and lancers to the left railing; all white mages in the middle; Komi, keep steering, you're doing a fine job; and most importantly, Sefi and Red both in the back row, where it was safest.

Both the girls complained about this last command.

"I'm one of the best archers in Baron!" Sefi protested. "You need me in the front! It's not like they'll have catapults or anything." And she was right: Komi had admitted that the Doom Ninjas specialized in hand-to-hand combat and used very little technology such as cannons and catapults.

"They call me 'Red' for a reason," Red pointed out crossly. "Without the _high-level fire magic_, I'm just Rella. You need me up front with the other mages!"

"I don't want anything to happen to you," Palom insisted. "If anything happened to either of you, I could never forgive myself… And neither would your fathers."

"We'll be fine; we can take care of ourselves. Please, put us where we can help the most," Sefi begged. Any more and she would have begged on her knees. But Palom had a very bad feeling about putting them in the front; something kept telling him to keep them back. Listening to inner voices like that was more of a Porom-thing, but he was willing to have faith in it today.

"Both of you to the back," he demanded. "No more discussion. To your stations, now." He turned and hurried off to make last minute preparations before the battle started, and before Sefi and Red could say another word.

_I wish they could trust me on this,_ he thought. _But then, trusting me is new to everyone. They'll get used to it._

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Giott observed the oncoming airships from the window of his tank with mild disdain.

"Neither of those two said anything about an airship army!" he exclaimed. "With all those ships, there'll hardly be anything left for us dwarves to blow apart!"

Luca observed with far more than just passing interest. Where on the Overworld Map had this enormous fleet come from? It was frosted in yellow though… more Doom Ninjas, perhaps?

"Uncle, those ships might not be friendly," Luca warned. She held up a pair of binoculars to see better; indeed, most everyone on these airships was clad in yellow. "Those ships are carrying more Ninjas, Uncle; we may need to beat a hasty retreat."

"Nonsense," Giott mumbled, pushing some knobs and twisting some levers. "Can't you see that big purple spot on the front ship?"

Luca raised her binoculars again and saw a familiar young woman with dark purple hair on the front ship. It was difficult to make out the details of the face, but she recognized who it was anyway.

"It's Baron's purple-haired princess!" Luca exclaimed. "What is she doing on board the ship? Has she betrayed us?"

"Aw man!" Giott moaned as a flurry of arrows and black magic spells rained down from the ships onto the ninjas below. "That's a lot of casualties; they're taking all our meat away!"

"What did she do?!" Luca muttered, watching the ships eliminate the ninjas below through her binoculars. She then noticed another familiar shape in line with the black mages. The long brown hair, the height, and the heavy lightning spell he was casting jogged her memory, but she couldn't think of why. And then she remembered; she'd seen him recently as well.

"Palom's on the ship too!" she said, trying to figure out what this could possibly mean.

"You're boyfriend's on the leading ship? Interesting," Giott said brashly as he fired the tank again. Luca blushed.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

Giott laughed her off and took aim at the bahamut, who had been high in the sky chasing his brother around and tiring.

"Poor brute hasn't even noticed the tank or the airships, he's so intent of the Lord of Summons. He can't catch the smaller, nimbler bahamut; the Lord is more agile and glides more easily on air currents, so he doesn't have to work as hard as his much larger counterpart. The monster is losing strength, and the Lord is a full step ahead of him at least," Giott explained to Luca, who's attention was divided between the airships and the warring bahamuts above.

"The monster hasn't noticed us_ or_ the airships yet?"

"Not yet; but I get the feeling he's about to. Let's prolong that revelation for as long as we can, shall we?" Giott gauged his target painstakingly, wishing that Obsidian would stay still and that Akstaron would quit getting in the way.

"Just a little more… just a little more…"

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"Hey, Red," Sefi noted to her companion nearby. "Palom isn't anywhere around. Let's try to sneak up to the front row."

"Can't," Red answered sadly. "Palom's in the front; he'd see me."

"Well he won't see _me_. I'm goin' in," Sefi said and tapped the shoulder of the person in front of her.

"Will you switch with me?" she asked.

"Suit yourself," the woman answered. "The farther back I am, the happier." She and Sefi swapped. The tapped the next person's shoulder.

"It's safer in the back," she pointed out. "Wanna trade places?"

"I'm all for safer," the young man answered and happily gave Sefi his place. She repeated this process until she found herself against the railing, looking down on the army below.

_It's about time,_ she thought, and knocked an arrow to her bow.

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Obsidian swooped after Akstaron for all he was worth and still didn't catch him. He was annoyed with his little brother, and felt like he was made of lead. He was completely oblivious to everything but the air currents and Akstaron, including the tank below whose cannon was following his every move.

He felt like he was in a haze. The world around him was a pale pinkish-purple smoke that he couldn't see past, and didn't really care to. The only things in this fog were him and his brother. The only sounds were the roaring of wind in his ears, dragonish snarling, gnashing teeth, the flapping of leathery wings, and an occasional taunt from Akstaron and his own witty counter yet to be fulfilled (such as, "I'll tear to you pieces, runt!" or "You'll die, fool!")

Something at the corner of his vision caught his attention and the smoke began to thin. This moment of awakening gave way to the sounds of explosions and the creaking of large wooden structures and the sound of millions dying. He gazed around and the smoke dispersed.

Metal tanks were blowing the ninjas out of their way; the fleet of saved ninjas and the infernal party who had rescued them had arrived and was tearing the ninja army apart.

_No! I've been so focused on Akstaron that I haven't noticed all _these_ people showing up! Already they've depleted my army by half! Anymore and I won't stand a chance! All I've worked so hard for… All my plans……… I have to stop this!_

He flew off after the airships, intending to smash the lot of them through ad through.

"Obsidian!" Akstaron called after him. "You're not giving up _now_, are you?"

Obsidian didn't hear. And then Akstaron saw where his brother was headed.

"Oh no! Not that!" He flew after Obsidian as fast as he could.

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"Damnation!" Giott hollered so that the tank's rivets rattled. "The freak flew off! And he's headed for the airships!"

Luca began to panic. "Maybe he hasn't seen you yet; blast him!"

"Great idea," Giott agreed and took aim again. At last Obsidian was going in a predictable direction. He placed the cannon ahead of the beast and prepared to launch.

"Here goes!" He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

"No! It's not firing! It's jammed!"

"But—All the people on that ship! Palom…The princess…!"

"We can only pray that someone else has taken the initiative to aim at him too, love…"

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Palom almost panicked when he saw Obsidian coming at the ship at full speed. But his gears started turning and he began hollering orders.

"Archers, hold your ground! White mages, get some protect spells on this hunk a' drift wood, now! If else, we're all dead!" He looked to the archers and noticed that the tell-tale purple blob wasn't in the back row where he'd left it.

"Red," he called to the mage, who was casting a spell, "where's Sefi? She was right over there before!"

"Perhaps she moved ahead?" Red suggested, knowing full well where Sefi had gone, but refusing to come forward right now.

"Dammit, I told her to stay in the back!" Palom screamed and ran to the archers to find her.

At the same time in the front row, Sefi was loading the first of her reserved dark arrows to her bow and aiming at the bahamut's exposed breast. She could almost feel the people behind her blessing her in their varied languages for switching with them. She fired the arrow with confidence, but Obsidian moved his head and it glanced off his scales. Sefi reloaded, feeling the need to hurry; time was running out. Theoretically, the white mages were working on a protect spell, but what if it didn't come up in time? It should be up in a few seconds, but…

"Purple girl," Obsidian growled, close enough to the ship to ram it with a flare. "Fancy meeting you again, eh? Where're your little friends now?"

Sefi froze, paralyzed by fear.

"Aren't you going to shoot me? Oh wait: it's the dragon fear, huh?"

Nobody answered. Everyone began backing away quickly except for frozen Sefi. The noise was dimmed, muted, like she was hearing it with cotton stuffed in her ears. Far away she heard someone screaming her name.

"Sefi, no! Get out of there! Move! For the love of king and country, move!"

Obsidian grinned.

"Bye," he growled and inhaled for a flare. Sefi still couldn't move; she would be the first to get fried.

There was a sort of popping sound and a red glimmer passed in front of her vision. The bahamut let lose his fire and Sefi flinched. The flame hit the ship and invisible barrier and sent the whole structure backward. Someone grabbed her wrist and hauled her back into the crowd. She stopped when her captor halted and pulled her to face him: it was Palom, and he looked a mix of terrified and furious.

"You are to stay _here_ for the rest of this battle," he informed roughly and pulled her to the ground. "You directly and knowingly disobeyed my orders, and you almost got _killed_ because of it, don't you understand that?"

Sefi's voice had gone. She couldn't tell if she was still shaken with her brush with death or if she couldn't bear to speak to him at all.

Obsidian was angry now at this sudden protect spell, and blasted the ship again. The ship still didn't burn, but was hurtled backward again. Palom pulled Sefi over and held her so close she couldn't breathe.

"If that protect spell hadn't come up when it did, you would have been… gulp fried," Palom pointed out. "Will you just follow commands from now on, please?" Sefi didn't answer, but she nodded her head up and down.

"We may not get out of this anyway," Palom realized sadly. "I get the feeling Obsidian won't be leaving any time soon."

"Look," Sefi cried, pointing past Obsidian. Akstaron was flying hard after his brother, preparing a flare of his own.

"Rydia must have summoned him before we got here," she suggested, glad that her voice had returned. A shadow fell over her and she looked to see who it was. Exeline had emerged from her room below deck with the other sword fighters and had appeared beside her.

"The Blue Bahamut is back?" She asked to no one in particular. As if in answer to her question, Akstaron unleashed his flare on Obsidian and reengaged his attention.

"Don't make me kill you _just_ so that I can destroy these ships," Obsidian warned. "I'll do it gladly if you make me."

"Come on then!" Akstaron dared. "I could keep doing this all day!" He flew off, daring Obsidian with every twist of his dragonish body. With what looked to the passengers like no other thought, Obsidian took off after Akstaron.

Exeline watched all this and her eyes lit up with an idea.

"Do you think the Blue Bahamut could give me a lift?"

"He seems a bit busy to be bothered with ferrying people around right now, Exeline," Palom pointed out, relived and thankful that Akstaron had driven his brother away from the airships.

"This is it," Exeline mumbled, ignoring Palom's answer and darted to the railing. She pulled Tiamat's Claw from its place on her hip and pointed the blade to the sky like an antenna.

_Blue Bahamut, come back; quickly._

She could sense the smaller dragon's confusion at the sudden voice that had just poured into his head, through the sword.

_I carry Tiamat's Claw, a magical sword infused with the power to control and mind-speak to dragons. I'm not going to control you, but I need you to come back. You need to let me ride you._

She sensed his bewilderment: where did you get that sword? And what do you mean, let you ride me; right now? In the air, with my crazy brother throwing fireballs at me? Surely you jest!

_I can help you. With Tiamat's Claw, I might be able to gain some influence over him, but it works better when you're closer to the creature. Will you do this for me?_

There was a moment of deliberation from Akstaron, but he quickly reversed direction and flew back to the airship.

"Jump off the ship!" he called. Obsidian was right behind him; if Exeline just jumped, he could fly down and catch her in midair rather than let Obsidian destroy the fleet _and_ him at the same time.

Exeline jumped on the railing, knowing what he meant. She heard several people yell things like, "No! Don't jump!", "Get down from there!", and "She's gone mad!". She didn't listen and jumped overboard.

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The last two minutes had been particularly rough for Obsidian. When Akstaron had said that he could keep playing this chasing game all day, Obsidian had felt like turning into a volcano; he was tired, and his wings felt like they would break and fall off if he kept the game up much longer. Two and a half minutes later, Akstaron was heading back for the ships: just the lucky break he needed! But the smaller ducked down after something a few hundred yards from the ship.

The something was a familiar young woman with a long braid of black hair and tan skin.

_Crap! _Her_ again! This chick doesn't give up either, does she? She's probably still souped up about the Black Tower thing and her boyfriend dying. If so, I'd better kill her fast. Anger can be the most effective weapon for humans. Anger makes them so determined, and lends them an odd strength that I envy them. _

_So, if this particular girl is _that_ upset, I don't think I'll wait around to see just how much power her malice has lent her. _He charged at his brother and his passenger.

A humming noised crashed into his head like ocean waves on the sand. It had no words, it had no tune, it didn't even seem to have a sound. But something about it seemed to tell him to fly closer to the ground. He didn't want to, but he somehow felt compelled to do it anyway. He lowered his altitude against his will, but almost happy to comply.

_What's happened?_ He wondered. _This close to the ground, it'll be more difficult to raise my altitude again. Plus I'm at more mercy from foot soldiers and those tanks. I knew all that… So why did I do this? _He looked back up in time to see Akstaron preparing another flare. Obsidian dodged and caught a glimpse of the big blade Exeline held. The blade was of a gold-steel alloy, and the hilt looked like a dragon's head carved from a dark brown metal of some kind, perhaps bronze.

_What is about that sword… Don't I know it from somewhere…?_

Perhaps Tiamat's Claw and how it came into Kenji's possession in the first place deserves an explanation. It goes back to when Yang and Edge first put their heads together several months earlier to end the raids in the Eastern kingdoms. They finally found and recruited Exeline and Kenji after the two appeared ragged and worn on Fabul's doorstep. When the two "ninjas" went to fall in with the other ninjas, they were given gold-steel weapons, standard issue for all ninjas; Exeline had received a set of gold fighting-claws, and Kenji had received a gold katana. Though his fiancé kept her claws, Kenji had discarded his own gaudy blade; he was good enough with a sword, but disliked the idea of wielding the weapons of the enemy.

Several days afterwards, the two had been given a special assignment from their region's admin (the same admin that had led the first attack on Baron). They were sent to scout out a nearby town, which was the group's next target. They went, but warned the people to evacuate as quickly as possible. In return the chieftain had offered them a sword than had also been forged from a gold-steel alloy. He also explained that the sword had been infused with the power to speak mind-to-mind with monsters in the dragon category. It would also allow them to control the weaker-minded of these monsters.

Without another word, Kenji took the new sword and never picked up the katana he'd been issued again.

And now Exeline had abandoned her claws and picked up the sword herself.

Obsidian did in fact know Tiamat's Claw from somewhere, but he hadn't seen it for a very long time. Minada, his grandmother, had been it's keeper ages ago. When he, Akstaron, and their sister were babies, she had shown it to them and explained its history. It had been forged by the dwarves, before even Minada was born (and she was thousands of years old); it was a gift to the Lord of Summons, whom the dwarves revered and honored. The Lord always kept it, as a symbol of rank and also to protect it: if humans ever got hold of the magical sword and gain such influence over dragon-type creatures, the outcome could be disastrous. When Ember-Tooth, their father and previous Lord of Summons was killed, Minada had hidden the sword on the Blue Planet. She had disguised herself as a human traveler and left it to a band of nomads in the East, making them swear never to use its power. If she had known how the blade would be passed off, more than three thousand years later, she would have hidden it on the moon.

But that had been the last Obsidian had heard of it. He had spent a considerable amount of time trying to find its hiding place, but hadn't had any luck. You see, he had been looking in caves, hills, and in shipwrecks far under the water; every stone had been unturned, but he never thought to look among the very humans the bahamuts had been trying so hard to hide the sword from. Later, after all was said and done, Akstaron wondered if, perhaps, Minada had known everything that would happen and had a plan for everything; it sure seemed like she had.

Of course, Obsidian hadn't remembered the sword yet, and his growing fatigue and rage were taxing his concentration. All of these factors had left his mind weakened and unready: perfect for a mind controlling sword to take hold and guide him anywhere the wielder wanted him to go.

"Get me closer," Exeline requested.

"What if he breaks free of the mind control and attacks us once we're in range?" Akstaron inquired.

"The mind control should get stronger as we get closer," Exeline pointed out. "Get me closer so I can attack."

"What is this trend of ordering me about?" Akstaron wondered just loud enough for his cargo to hear, and flew down after his brother. "And why do I oblige? Afterall, the only human I really have to listen to is Rydia."

_Fly lower,_ she thought, channeling her command into her sword and out at Obsidian. _Fly lower. Fly lower._ Below, Obsidian was half-mindlessly obeying the soundless order. With the half that was working, he seemed to be fighting the control off; but he was too weak to completely break free.

It made Exeline feel a bit sorry for the monster. Seeing him struggling between the need to get back up and keep fighting and the mind control. Weakened as he was, his mind and body were both happy to let someone else take over and drive; mad as he was, he was desperately trying to get himself free of it and take himself back over.

_He knows he's got little hope either way,_ Exeline thought to herself, shutting her thoughts from the sword. _If he lets the mind control take over completely, he's at the mercy of his controller, whom he knows hates him. If he gets free, he's too weak to raise his altitude again, and probably doesn't even have the strength to fight back. Afterall, he's been working his wings and body hard for well over two hours by now. And though I do feel kind of sorry for him, this is the moment to strike: when your prey is the weakest and most tired, you strike like the venomous cobra._

She channeled a message to Akstaron: _The time is drawing near. Just a little longer, and he'll be right for the taking. The people are finishing up down there, his army is almost gone. He'll have nothing left to keep fighting for; he'll be crushed. _

_He had some good ideas, _Akstaron thought back, _but he was too cocky. He never thought for a second that a bunch of humans could stand up to him. Even Zeromus knew that humans had a chance; that's what made him so formidable: he didn't underestimate our warriors. Obsidian… He should have taken his cues from that bastard if he wanted to take over something, though I'm glad he didn't._

Exeline nodded thoughtfully. She knew a lot about Angel and Sefi's adventures, but little about their parent's adventures with Zeromus. She knew that Zeromus was an alien who had tried to take over the Blue Planet, and that Cecil and Rosa had beaten him up with the help of the other people who had come to the Mysidia conference. But that was really all she knew about it. She made a mental note to have someone tell her the whole story sometime.

"Give him five minutes more; then we'll have him. What we can't finish, I'm sure those tanks can."

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Luca and Giott watched as Akstaron and his strange passenger herded Obsidian closer to the ground.

"What is their plan?" Luca wondered.

"They plan to drive the weakened monster close to the ground, so that he can't climb back up into the air," Giott explained, catching the initial plan. "Once he's so weary he's falling asleep, they strike. Heh… The monster could have stood some lesson in being a successful world dominator from Zeromus…"

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This was very nearly the same dialogue of observations that Cecil was making on the balcony.

"That girl is way smarter than she seemed to be at first," he noted. "It reminds me of several other girls I know…"

All these girls (except Sefi) were present for this remark, and were all blushing.

"Do you think this battle is nearly over?" Angel asked.

"I believe so," Cecil agreed. "Boy, this bahamut doesn't know how to keep a handle on his battles; if he does get away and comes back with another army, he'll launch another one-battle-war and _then_ they'll kill him."

"He's not getting away from Exeline," Porom said firmly. "She ran off to the top of the world to save Kenji and Kaelery, and came back alive. She's not going to let him live for this."

"Do you think they saved them? Do you think…?" Angel asked hopefully.

Everyone was silent.

"One can only hope, love," Rose said quietly.

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Three minutes into the wait, and Exeline made an executive decision:

"Do it now."

"Huh?"

"Dive after him now. He's weakened enough; this is the moment."

Akstaron wordlessly dove down after Obsidian. Exeline pulled the sword up into fighting stance, feeling how heavy it was becoming.

_I hope I'll be able to keep steady while hurtling it through the air._

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Obsidian was so weary. He felt like his wings would fall off at any second. His body was so heavy he couldn't keep it up anymore. His head was ringing from the strange vibrations that had been controlling him against his will. And his brother and the traitor were hovering above somewhere waiting to finish him. He risked a glance back to see where they were.

They were coming after him, Mega-Flare pumping and sword brandished.

_No! This can't be the end! I refuse to go out like this, worn to dust, my mind imprisoned, with no chance to save myself... I absolutely refuse! _He struggled to get free of the mind control with the little strength he had left. He failed.

He felt the power of Akstaron's mega-flare punch him between his wings and hammer him into the ground. His throat was so dry and so tired from roaring that his cry of pain was little more than a squeak. He hit the ground and sped through the dirt, clearing the few ninjas left from his path.

For a moment, he lay still. It felt good to be lying down with his eyes closed. He no longer cared if he died; he was so tired that he could sleep forever. He wished the girl would just get it over with already and leave him in peace.

Rhythmic thumping sounds drew his eyes painfully open. Akstaron and Exeline stood over him, looking triumphant. He suddenly couldn't blame them. She held Tiamat's Claw loosely in her hand, and it was drenched in dragon-blood. Now that he thought about it, his thigh smarted and he could feel liquid trickling down his leg.

"Would you just get it over with?" he requested. He refused to beg for death, even though he wanted to.

"As you like it," Exeline agreed, brushing a wisp of black hair behind her ear. She raised her sword…

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Even high up in the air, in her cabin on the airship, the roar of triumph made Sefi's ears ring. She wished that she could come out and see, but Palom had confined her to her cabin and she had decided to obey his commands in battle from now on. No matter what; she had learned her lesson.

The clomping of boots on the stairs caught her attention. A shadow fell on the wall outside and Palom appeared in the doorway.

"You've got to come out here and see this," he insisted.

"But you said—"

"Forget what I said," he ordered, crossing the room and taking hold of Sefi's wrist. "You have to see." He led her out and up onto the deck.

The roar of the passengers was louder on deck. There was a lot of high-fiving and running about going on; Sefi nearly lost track of Palom in all the chaos.

"Did they do it?" Sefi asked over the noise. "Did they get him?"

"They certainly did," Palom confirmed, clearing a space for them at the railing. He pointed to the ground far off before the fleet. "Look down there," he directed.

Sefi did as she was told and beheld Akstaron's midnight body beside Obsidian's limp body on the ground. Between their forms the sun glanced off Exeline's gold sword, even thought they could only just see her tell-tale whip of raven hair. Obsidian's red scales were paling slightly to a shade somewhere between bright red and hot pink; a river of blood was seeping out from his chest and thigh onto the ground.

"It's over…" Sefi breathed. "It's over… Or am I daydreaming in my cabin?"

"It's real," Palom assured her. "We can see it too."

Sefi was silent for a moment, trying to take it in. She felt like she would suddenly sprout wings and take off into the air. Instead, she jumped up in the air with a shout of utter joy. It was punctuated when Palom pulled her into his arms.

"Now that the war is over, there's something very important I need to know," he said over the noise.

"What's that?"

"If you'll marry me. Will you do that?"

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YAAAAAYYYYY!!

Whew… That felt good.

You know, I had a lot more tacked on to the end of this chapter, but I've decided to cut it all off and begin the next chapter with it; you'll fall over when you read it. All the strings get pulled together in the most fabulous concert EVER! Well, for _me_ anyway…

Well, I guess I've got a few weddings to plan. There's a BIG pairing surprise at the very end. How exciting…!

Alrighty, then. Off I go!

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	14. Endings

Oh my gosh… This is the next-to-last chapter of the entire story. I can't believe it… I think I need to sit down…

Oh wait; I'm already sitting down, aren't I?

With the end of one story begins another: I've found another awesome Final Fantasy! It's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, a fairly new release I think, so you may not have of it yet. It's supposed to be a prelude to the original Crystal Chronicles, or something like that. It is SUPER awesome! You must play it!

Also, in case you haven't heard the news, (and I quote the illustrious Mythweaver1 here):

**FFIV REMAKE FOR DS!! OMGSOPRETTY DIES**

I love how she put that. I had to share it with y'all.

Anyways, on with the show. Pull back the curtains, Amanda!

(The pink salamander in the wings sets down her beloved whiffle bat and begins pulling back the big red curtains in front of the screen…)

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Chapter 13: Endings

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The dwarves were all emerging from their tanks to join in the victory cry. Giott was thrilled that the plan had worked. Luca was just happy to breathe again.

"I didn't realize how stuffy it was in there," she whined while her uncle shouted victoriously at the top of his lungs.

"I can't believe it!" he shouted. "That little whipper-snapper did it! And she lived! I should make her an honorary dwarf!"

"You _said_ the plan was a good one; she had the best chance of winning of anyone who's tried today."

"I never said that she had good odds, just that her strategy was good. Did she come up with it on her own? If so, she's a clever little thing!"

"I'm a clever _little_ thing," Luca corrected. "She's five feet taller than me."

"Whatever; quit your complaining," Giott demanded. Luca obliged; it felt good to breath again.

_Gosh, I hope that Palom got through alright… Why am I still thinking about him?!_

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"That's it! That's the way to do it! That was brilliant!"

Cecil was the only one on the balcony who could find words. Behind him, Angel had started jumping up and down like a maniac; Rosa had collapsed and was cry tears of relief, and Rydia and Porom were dancing around in circles together.

"We did it, we did it, we did it!" Angel shouted, dashing to the balcony and yelling across the sand. "Take _that_, you stupid dragon! You can't beat us!"

"Indeed, no one can," said someone behind them. They all turned to see Yang and Odin standing in the doorway.

"I dare say," Yang continued, "that the only thing that could possibly kill any of us now is time itself."

Angel ran to hug Odin, but nearly knocked him over. "You're a mess," she pointed out.

"I _have_ been fighting for almost three hours, you know."

"Let me heal you," she suggested. She took his hands and sent a surge of glowing white power from her body and into his. As she fed him the heal spell he straightened visibly and his bruises faded, though he still looked like someone had dragged him through the dirt.

"Thanks. I really needed that," he said quietly. He brushed his fingers across Angel's face, and she blushed.

Yang animated. "Has she told you yet?" he asked the open-mouthed adults around him.

"About _this_, you mean?" Porom asked. "I thought they didn't like each other."

Angel's eyes sparkled wickedly at the mage. "I changed my mind," she informed. Her gaze returned lovingly to Odin. "He's really not so bad, now that I know him."

Cecil and Rosa exchanged wary looks. Such a change; and so fast! But then, Angel threw surprises at them as often as Rydia had when she was Angel's age.

"You're sure about this?" Rosa asked.

"Absolutely," Angel answered firmly.

Cecil sighed, exasperated. "What on earth are we going to do with you," he said, more as a statement than a question. "Every time you seem to have absolutely made up your mind, you change it. 'Keeps a dad on his toes… I never planned for this; I don't know why."

"You never planned for what, daddy?"

"I always knew this would happen, but I never braced myself for it… I knew that one day you'd ask to marry. I… I'm not ready to let my little girl go."

Angel crossed back over to her father and gave him a hug. "It's not like I'm going anywhere. I'm going to be the queen, remember?"

"It doesn't feel right." Cecil spoke slowly, trying to find the words for what he was feeling. "If any thing happened to you, I would be there. I've been there for you all your life, helping you and teaching you, and now everything's going to change. God forbid your sister comes back with a boyfriend…"

"We can take care of ourselves; you and mom taught us how. We're not going anywhere where you can't see us again. Even if we leave Baron, we'll still find our ways home sometime. I promise."

"I can trust that, but…"

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The reunion with their wayward family members was both joyful and painful.

At first, Rydia had planned to hit Edge as hard as could with every summons she had. But she quickly abandoned that plan when she realized how much she had worried about him and how grateful she was that he was home safe. Once reunited, they left to retrieve Aron from his hiding place and the family disappeared for the rest of the day.

Likewise, Edward and Red left quickly to find Alara, who was in the infirmary in a different part of the castle.

"Brace yourself," Red warned Angel at a whisper. "Sefi has an announcement to make, and it'll make you all jump."

"Red, let's go," Edward called from across the room. Red gave Angel a quick hug and a good-bye and ran after her father. Angel ran the other way in search of her sister.

Sefi found her first. She snuck up behind Angel and caught her in a headlock.

"I have you now, princess of Baron," she said in a raspy voice.

"Let me go, Sef!" Angel said as she wrestled out of her sister's grip. She took a step back and looked Sefi over. She had changed somehow. She seemed stronger.

"There's so much I have to say to you, and I don't know where to begin," Angel said softly.

"I feel the same way," Sefi agreed. "I'm glad I found you before I found mom and dad."

"Why's that?"

"I—I've made a big decision on my own. It'll change a lot of things, I think."

"Red said that you had a big announcement to make. Tell me, tell me."

Sefi took a deep breath. "……You know that we—the two of us, Palom, Porom, and Red—have been friends for three years now, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, on this little mission, the three of us who went got a whole lot closer, as friends, you know, and—"

"Stop hedging Sefi. I'm your twin sister; tell me."

"Okay, here it goes:……… Palom asked me to marry him, and I said yes!" Sefi spit the whole message out on one big breath, but came out breathing like she'd been running in circles for several minutes. Angel nearly fell over from a mix of shock and glee; the combination was making her feel dizzy.

"That's wonderful!" Angel cried, throwing her arms around her twin. "It's brilliant: I'm getting married too!"

"What? To who?"

"You'll never believe it, but it's Odin."

"No, I can't believe it! How did this happen?"

They both felt rather silly and childish. Less than an hour ago they had been beaten to dust and scared to death. Now they found themselves talking of weddings and love as if they were ten again and hadn't been in a battle at all.

Then Angel remembered:

_God forbid your sister comes back with a boyfriend…_

"Oh, what are you going to tell mom and dad?" Angel asked, suddenly nervous.

"I… I'm not sure yet," Sefi admitted sheepishly. "I've been so excited that I haven't thought about that yet."

"You have to tell them," Angel pointed out.

"I sort of hope that Palom tells them first, although that's not really fair."

"Does this mean you'll be moving to Mysidia?"

"Actually no." Sefi beamed once more. "Porom's the better mage anyway. Besides, we find the Elder!"

"Alive?! How?"

"Um, I think there's too much to catch up on right here. Maybe we should wait until mom and dad are sitting down to figure everything out," Sefi suggested. "Possibly sitting down with a few glasses of brandy," she added.

"That might be a good idea," Angel agreed with a laugh.

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With that, Sefi waited until that night to explain herself to the rest of her family. She took a deep breath and approached Cecil in as businesslike a manner as she could; it was difficult since she had no idea how her weary father would react.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I speak with you alone?"

"Certainly. Let's go to the library, shall we?"

"Okay."

As the two walked to the library Sefi remained quiet, unaware that Cecil was studying her hard.

"Something is troubling you, and I don't think its battle trauma," he said finally.

"You're right," Sefi agreed bluntly.

"You're nervous. Won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"When we're alone."

When they reached the library and walked inside, Cecil began lighting a few candles and Sefi locked the door, even though she didn't need to.

"Why don't you sit down, Daddy?"

"Why don't you?" Cecil suggested.

"I'll stand, thanks."

"You must be in some kind of trouble. You only act like this when you know you're about to get yelled at."

"You could say that. A lot of stuff happened after we left…"

"I understand that Kaelery and Kenji didn't make it back; they died helping the rest of you escape." Cecil wasn't sitting, but standing before Sefi. He seemed relaxed but sad. Sefi didn't blame him; she felt sad as well.

"It's not just them," Sefi interjected. "There's a lot more."

And so she told about how they battled with Obsidian in the Black Tower, and how they had found the long-lost Elder scraping by on one of the desolate islands, how she had nearly let herself die on the airship. All through her story, Cecil remained quiet, not asking a question, but hanging on every word of the story. Sefi wondered if this was what small children looked like when listening to an adventure story about brave, dashing pirates.

_I suppose I'll know soon enough._

She finished and paused, waiting for Cecil to say something. Her was silent for a long time before asking, "There's something else, isn't there? There's something you haven't told me yet."

"How did you know?"

"Vibes, darling." Cecil tapped his temple. "I know everything."

"But not what I'm hiding?"

"I'll not invade your mind. You can tell me yourself."

"Angel mentioned at diner that you aren't sure how to feel about her getting married."

"That's true," Cecil admitted with a sigh.

"That's probably why I'm a little nervous. "I… I, uh…"

"Who is he?"

"…What?"

"Who's the lucky boy? You're in love."

O.O "How did you—Never mind."

"Let me guess… It wouldn't happen to be Palom, would it?"

"I though you were letting me tell the story."

"You're taking too long," Cecil stated bluntly. "It was an easy guess; that boy adores you. From what I understand, he nearly jumped out of his skin when you showed up in Mysidia for the conference."

"I suppose he does make his feeling pretty obvious sometimes," Sefi admitted.

"Has he asked you to marry him yet?"

Sefi's heart nearly split in two. She had never heard her father say anything in such a sad voice. He was too brave and strong to speak like that. Despite how overjoyed she was, she felt guilty for accepting Palom's long-awaited proposal. She kept her eyes on the floor.

"He has," she said quietly.

"I assume you've said yes?"

Sefi was silent.

"Can't you look me in the eye? There's nothing to be so ashamed of if you said yes. I wouldn't blame you if you did."

Sefi dared to glance up. "You're not upset?" she asked timidly.

"Why would I be upset?" Cecil asked, cocking his head slightly to one side. "Palom's a good boy, if not a bit rash at times. I've known him for 17 years; I know he'll take care of you. I can't think of any reason to be upset."

"What about Angel?"

"What has she been telling you? I'm fine." Cecil sounded like he was trying to reassure himself.

"You're not fine, Daddy. You don't want this, right?"

"…You're 17 years old now. You should know what's best for yourself now. You're a good kid, and pretty smart girl, most of the time. So's your sister. I shouldn't be so worried."

"So… It's okay if I said yes?"

"Indeed it is…. Sefi, you're crying; why is that?"

Sefi wiped the unnoticed tears off her face and sniffled. "I'm not sure. I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble."

"You've caused us no trouble at all," Cecil insisted, pulling Sefi into his arms. "It's just been a long day, full of surprises, and, well… There have been a lot of surprises lately. Maybe this would have been easier if I didn't have to take it all in on one day."

"I'm sorry…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. A girl like you deserves love. If you've found it, you should grab hold of it and never let it go. I almost made that mistake; I always wished that you wouldn't have to find out the hard way too."

"You're a really good dad, you know."

"I've done my very best, and it would seem that I've done a good job. I'm so proud of you both."

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Porom didn't take the news quite so well.

"I can't believe that you proposed to someone and didn't let me know! How dare you abandon me like this, you selfish, ungrateful little—"

"Porom, calm down," Palom chided, wishing that his twin would lower her voice enough to hear him at all.

Fortunately, the Elder was there again to talk some sense back into her.

"Be still, Porom," Elder demanded. Porom quieted immediately, though she didn't seem happy about it.

"You know Sefi, don't you? You brought her with you when you helped Angel escape," Elder remembered.

"True."

"Then you know she's alright. I don't see why you're so mad at your big brother."

"Big by about five minutes!" Porom yelled.

"Porom, please," Palom interrupted. "You know that I've been in love with her for a long time. I've told you time and again."

"You've been planning this since you first saw her, weren't you," Porom accused. "You've been planning to ask her for three years. You've been planning to leave me all alone all this time, haven't you! Did you even bother asking me how I felt about it?"

"Huh? Why didn't you say something about this before? I didn't know that you would be so lonely," Palom pointed out.

"You've been the only thing I've had since Elder disappeared, remember?"

"I have a name, you know," Elder muttered. "And it's Roland."

Neither of the twins noticed.

"We've been together since we were born. We've never been apart. We're like yin and yang; I can't be without you. You can't leave me alone… And you're Mysidia's elder, anyway."

"Porom, let's be serious," Palom reasoned. "Was I ever really meant to be the elder of anything?"

Porom was silent. Palom had a point.

"Elder is back—"

"You're a grown man now; you can call me Roland if you wish."

"Um, okay—_Roland_ is back now. He's the real elder. And besides: you're better cut out for the job. You'll make a better elder than I ever could have."

"Do you really think so?" Porom was clearly flattered.

"I know so. Mysidia and Baron are connected, anyway. I'll come back every now and then."

"……. "

"So, will you come to my wedding?"

Porom beamed and threw her arms around her brother's neck. "Of course I will! Sorry for yelling at you; it was just a little surprising, is all."

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Exeline was alone at the airship dock, watching the birds flying. She felt lighter, now that she had avenged all the innocents Obsidian had killed; especially Kenji. At the same time, she felt empty. With her vengeance taken out, she felt like she didn't have anything left to do with herself. She had planned to live out the rest of her life with the man she loved, but that was impossible now.

It had been nearly a week since the battle had ended. The people were just beginning to return to the cities and business was returning to normal. Cecil had seen that she had nowhere to go really, and had offered her a place in the palace and in the city until she figured her future out. He had even suggested she settle down in Baron. She didn't really think that she could do that; she figured she'd return to the East and try to find her family again. How would they feel when she returned?

"Are you okay?"

She turned around to see a man in blue armor standing in the doorway. His blonde hair framed his face like a lion's mane. His green eyes seemed to be examining her closely.

"You're Cecil's dragoon friend. I thought they left you in charge of the refugees in Mysidia. When did you get back?"

"I got back last night. Cecil and Rosa told me that you've been kind of depressed lately. They sent me to find you."

"I'm fine," Exeline insisted. There was a long silence between them. Finally the dragoon came to sit down beside her on the dock.

"I don't think I've properly introduced myself," he mentioned. "My name is Kain Highwind." He held out his hand.

"I'm Exeline Lahisdah," Exeline answered, shaking Kain's hand.

"You seem lonely," Kain observed.

"A lot's happened to me. I flew to the top of the world to rescue my beloved, and I… I failed." Her voice wavered. "I almost saved him…"

"I'm truly sorry for your loss, Miss Lahisdah," Kain said stoically. "I knew little of your fiancé, but he seemed like a good person. You really did love him didn't you."

Exeline nodded and gazed out to the sky, watching a flock of birds winging their way across the countryside.

"Sometimes I like to think that Kenji's sprit is now in the form of a bird, flying free across the sky. He only rode on an airship a few times, but he loved it so much. I'd never seen him so happy before."

"How long did you know him?"

"Since I was seven. He saved my life when a monster attacked me. After that, well, it was like we were glued together…"

"I suggest that you take Cecil's advice and settle down here," Kain advised. "This is a good, prosperous city, and it would welcome you warmly. The rest of us would hate to see such a marvelous young woman just disappear."

"You would hate to see me leave?"

"As of the battle, we are short of good fighters. It would be a shame to lose one such as you."

"Im flattered," Exeline replied. "But I should go."

"Is there something back there that you must seek? Something tat Kenji left for you? Or your remaining family, perhaps?"

"No, nothing. What I came here with was pretty much all I have left. And I really don't have any family left now; my parents were both lost when my village was attacked. My only family is a distant uncle, and he's only family by marriage."

"Then stay," Kain said, almost eagerly. "You know that we'd love to have you here."

"_You'd_ love to have me here," Exeline said dryly. "You have feelings for me; I can hear it in your voice."

Kain blushed and stared down at the plank wood dock. "You're incredibly observant."

"What of it?"

"You see me as an opportunist, don't you? You think I've been waiting in the wings for Kenji to fall and then move in on you like a hermit crab, don't you? It's not like that at all," Kain insisted.

"Not from what Edge says."

"Don't listen to Edge; his wife hates me. He's biased against me. He'll tell you anything to make you hate me. If they'd just give me a chance…"

"I'm listening. Go on."

"Look, it's true, I'm very fond of you. You're smart, intelligent, clever, a bit rash perhaps, but all great heroes are. You're also kind and sweet from what I've heard."

"You never mentioned beauty; do you find me unattractive, for all my character?"

"I find you _amazingly_ attractive; I figured that beauty was a given."

"Oh. I see. Thank you."

"You're welcome… Look, Exeline, what happened to Kenji was a terrible thing, and if I could reverse time and help you save him, I would do that. He did a great service to this kingdom; he _saved_ my king and best friend. But… Don't you think that Kenji would want you to be happy, even in his death?"

"I do. I can't think of anything he'd want more."

"I'm not asking you to marry me," Kain assured, "but I think it's time to stop dwelling on his death and move on with your life. I'm not saying to forget about him either; _never_ forget him. But do something more with your life than sit around Baron, or your village, or anywhere else, and waste your life lamenting for him.

"Edward, Edge, and Cecil would all tell you the same, if you need any reference. Especially Edward."

Exeline thought abut this and decided that Kain was right. She had to stop feeling so sorry for herself. She had to stop feeling sorry for herself. And starting tomorrow, she would find herself a nice little house in the city and a job. Maybe she could be a fighting instructor…

Kain stood up and walked for the door before Exeline realized that he was leaving. She noticed when Kain said, "I do hope you'll stay. I'm not the only one who will miss you sorely."

She sprung up and caught him by the arm.

"You know the city alright?"

"Not as well as I used to, but I know my way around."

"Do you think you could help me find a place to live? If I'm staying in Baron, I don't want it to be out of charity from my royal friends."

Kain smiled softly. He didn't look so menacing when he smiled.

"Think we could talk about it over lunch?" he asked.

"I think that's a great idea," Exeline agreed.

"I know a great place not too far from the castle gate. I think you'll like it."

"Thanks for helping me." She let her hand slip down Kain's arm and took his hand.

"It's nothing," Kain insisted.

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HAHA!! I got through the chapter with no weddings!! I'm so smart!! )

Oh… there's only ONE update left on this. I'm so sad!! T.T But then, there are some other things I'm going to do this summer. I've written some stuff on my school computer that I plan to post this summer: one's for Pokemon, and the other's for an old PBS show called Liberty's Kids (it trails a trio of journalists from the Boston Tea Party to a few months after the end of the Revolutionary War. My brother and I watched it like a sop opera. lol).

So… heheh… I guess that's almost a wrap. Come for the after party after the epilogue!

I'll be back as soon as I can!


	15. Epilogue

No news today

Sigh… The final installment. I thought I'd never live to see this day…! T.T

Well, I'm sure you're all dying to know how everything ended. So I'll wrap it up and get started on the next big project.

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Epilogue

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And so, _Queen Angel wrote in her book, _that is how it went. Perhaps, one day, if the bahamuts invade our fair planet again, this book will offer some sort of help. But we all know how unpredictable bahamuts are.

_For the thousandth time since she began writing, she turned back to the front of the book and began flipping though the pages, re-reading her work. She was no writer, no bard, no poet, nothing like that, but she felt that she had done a good job. She felt that she had better have done a good job: compiling this story had taken her the better part of the week. She had interviewed everyone and resurrected memories that she had locked away to get the proper information for this chronicle._

_Overall, not too shabby._

_She put the pen back to the paper and wrote again:_

Perhaps you would like to know what happened to everyone when the battle ended and the chaos began to settle. Several interesting things occurred, and they might surprise you.

Firstly, I'll say that I never thought my sister was lovelier than on her wedding day. I've never seen her quite so happy. Today, about twelve years later, she and Palom are still happily married and have three children: Lena, their eldest (who is at school in Mysidia now), Fynn, and Jack.

Interestingly enough, it was Sefi who married first; Odin and I were wed two years later. After I was crowned, ten years ago, I noticed something amazing: Baron seems to have grown fuller and healthier, even though we've expanded very little. The very last shreds of doubt in the kingdom have vanished, and more and more people are flocking to the city every year. There are small villages popping up all over the place, due to overcrowding! It would seem that the prophesies of my grandfather and uncle were correct, afterall. I feel bad that I ever doubted them.

That aside, I have two children myself: Cera, the princess, and her brother, Chang.

It didn't take very long for Exeline and Kain to become good friends. In fact, they became such good friends that, a few years ago, they decided to get married! They have adopted a little boy, and his name is Kenji.

Exeline also runs a training studio in the city, and offers lessons to all; even if they can only afford to pay her in hard work.

Half a continent away, Porom is Mysidia's elder, and is currently attempting to teach Lena how to be an elder. By now, she's found out that Lena is _far_ too much like her father, and will never be an elder. In my opinion, Porom would have more luck training one of her nephews. But she's just as stubborn as ever and is convinced that she'll make a lady and a leader of Lena yet.

My beloved Red was also crowned queen of Damcyan recently; her parents, like mine, decided to retire and spend their golden years in peace. Red seems to be depressed, since she hasn't seen her parents in months. She thinks they are probably in Troia.

Speaking of parents, mine simply retired and let me take over. Mom and Daddy have been living quietly and happily in Mist for the past several years, although they travel constantly (Mom said that it's wonderful to be able to travel with little to mind except whether those _adorable_ shoes in the shop window come in her size). They still manage to make their way back to Baron every month; when you have your own private airship, I suppose it's easy.

Sadly, Eblan has lost it's prince to the road; our sweet little Aron, 17 this winter, is a traveling historian now. Fortunately, sometime after the war was over, Rydia had another child: a princess, who will rule where her brother won't. I'm sad to say that princess Minh knows little of her big brother, because he's almost never home. In fact, now one has seen him for a long time. We all wish that Aron would get an airship or a hovercraft, or at least invest in a pet chocobo or something, but he likes to walk on foot (he's a very handsome young man; I hope he settles down soon…). Luckily, he has his mother's summoning powers and magical abilities, so no one ever worries about his being eaten by wild beasts.

Poor Yang was faced with quite a dilemma when Odin married me: his oldest was dead and his only other child was leaving. So what's a monk to do when faced with an empty throne? The answer came in an unlikely package: a young boy showed up on Yang's doorstep shortly after the war, much the same as he'd found Exeline and Kenji. The boy was looking for his family, all of whom he had lost to Doom Ninjas. Of course, Yang let the boy into the castle and set him up training as a monk. I don't know what the circumstances were, but somehow Yang and this boy, Yoshi, became pretty close as time went on. Yoshi is now the crown prince of Fabul.

Of the dwarves, we know very little. We know that Giott had a little too much to drink at the celebration party and made a complete fool of himself (but he didn't care), and that Luca was very mad about something (I guess she found out about Palom and Sefi somehow). Sadly, Giott died of a heart attack three years ago, and Luca is the queen now. This worried Palom a bit at first, but after we heard that she had been coronated we never heard from her again. I can only hope that she's been a good queen; we haven't talked since she was crowned.

I haven't heard much of the summons or the bahamut colony on the moon since I was 18, but I understand that everyone who didn't take Akstaron seriously (because he was rather young) saw him with a new respect. I suppose that if you outwit your older brother, banish him, and then kill him, you're a pretty big deal. I pray that Akstaron rules the summons for a _very_ long time.

_Angel stopped and looked back over her epilogue. It was almost done; she was more satisfied. She looked out the window and at the horizon, a mountainous expanse that led between Baron and Mist. _

_There was a person walking down the path. His figure was vague, but he was clad mostly in green robes and had a crown of dusty hair on his head._

Speak of the devil!_ Angel thought. She ran to the window to make sure that it was really Aron; a vibe assured her that it was._

_She dashed out of the library and down the stairs to alert her friends and family, leaving her almost finished masterpiece lying open on the red velvet chair. She paused and thought about that for a moment._

"_Oh well," Angel muttered to herself. "I can finish it anytime." She continued on her way, intent on finishing the epilogue as soon as she could._

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OOOOMMMGGG!! IT'S DOOOONE!!

(Doubles over trying to breathe normally, which is very hard to do right now...)

Okay, I'll try to calm down now.

Sooo... I guess that's a wrap. I'm planning to write a few more fics for FFIV, but there are other things are on the way. There's something pending for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. It's my new fave lately!

Well, I've got a lot of work to do, even though I'm done with my first bug odyssey. Thank you again, my friends, for sticking with for so long. Particular thanks to AngelWings 008 for such devotion to this story; I've never had such a reader before! I love you!

And off I go. Once again, into the bowls of my studio, to scratch out a new adventure!

Freida L. Right.


End file.
